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Sri Lanka will be playing just four Tests in 2025, with the first two matches being played by the middle of Februrary itself.
Angelo Mathews is among the finest cricketers to have represented Sri Lanka. (AP Photo)
Angelo Mathews took to social media to vent his frustration as the veteran all-rounder rued the number of Test matches the Sri Lankan men’s cricket team will play in the year 2025.
Sri Lanka will be playing just four Tests in the calendar year, with the first two matches being played by the middle of Februrary itself.
In the ongoing 2023-25 edition of the WTC, Sri Lanka have played 13 Tests with only Bangladesh (12) and South Africa (12) having played fewer matches.
According to the Future Tours Program schedule, Sri Lanka are slated to finish off their Test matches by June as the Island nation host Bangladesh in two Tests in the new 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Sri Lanka are supposed to play the least number of Test matches in the upcoming cycle, with only eight more Tests scheduled in 2026 and 2027.
Mathews, tagging the International Cricket Council, wrote on X: “Absolutely shocking to hear that Sri Lanka is only playing 4 test matches this entire year including the Aus Tests this month.”
Absolutely shocking to hear that srilanka is only playing 4 test matches this entire year including the aus tests this month @ICC .— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) January 6, 2025
Mathews’ comments come after reports suggest that ICC, in collaboration with cricket boards of India, Australia and England, is exploring the possibility of a two-tier Test system to facilitate more series between big three nations.
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The Age reported that Jay Shah, the new ICC chairman, is set to meet Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird and his England counterpart Richard Thompson later this month to discuss the finer points.
“Any plan for a move to two divisions in Test cricket would kick in after the end of the current Future Tours Program in 2027,” the Age reported quoting its sources.
A BCCI official indicated that the discussion floated around the ICC corridors in 2016, the first-time when a two-tier Test system was seriously considered. The BCCI and cricket bodies of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh opposed the move, citing the possibility of decreasing revenue.
They had also argued that smaller nations would miss out on the opportunity of playing against top teams if such a system comes into existence.
However, nine years down the road the modalities have changed and even some of the reputed experts such as former Indian skipper Ravi Shastri are supporting the division.
“I’ve been a firm believer in that if you want Test cricket to survive and be alive and thriving, I think that’s the way to go.
“The top teams play against each other more often, so there is a contest; you want contests,” Shastri told SEN during the recent fifth Test between India and Australia.
Even some of the top players such as England Test skipper Ben Stokes had criticised the current model of World Test Championship.
(With inputs from Agencies)
- Location :
Colombo, Sri Lanka
