'Mathews can surpass Tendulkar's Test record', claims former Sri Lankan team manager

Angelo Mathews has been in fine form

Sri Lankan Cricket team’s outgoing manager has heaped praise on national team Captain Angelo Mathews. As his two-year tenure came to an end with the recently concluded World Cup, he has been replaced by Jeryl Woutersz for the upcoming home assignments against Pakistan and India.

"From the time he (Angelo Mathews) captained in the Bangladesh series through to the end of the 2015 World Cup, it was marvellous to see a young man really filling the shoes he was intended to fill," de Zoysa said. "With Mahela (Jayawardene) not there and once Sangakkara goes, he will have to do it on his own, then we will really see what he is really made of." He also expressed his disappointment when asked about Sangakkara’s impending retirement from Test Cricket in August.

Mathews can break Sachin’s Test centuries record

De Zoysa went to claim that Mathews fine form can lead him to break Sachin’s Test centuries record. "He can probably surpass Tendulkar's number of Test centuries if he keeps going. He is already no. 2 to (Don) Bradman and he will probably retain that position in batting average terms. There is so much more he can offer for Sri Lanka," he said.

He also sounded optimistic about Sri Lanka’s young batsmen, but pointed out that they needed impact bowlers.

"The batting is going to be fairly sound. Obviously you will miss Mahela; no way you won't miss a guy who has scored 18,000 runs, but someone has to step up," he said.

"Thirimanne is definitely going to be one of the players for the future. I am very confident Chandimal will do so too when he is confident of a place in the side. Others who should come through are Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva has to be little bit more positive he has tremendous temperament and good technique."

“Eranga and Prasad have a lot of potential so too does Chameera but we will have to see whether he is fit enough for Test cricket. Ten overs in ODI cricket is quite a different game against 20-25 overs in a Test match."

"There is no greater opportunity for the young guys than now," he concluded.