Veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews has expressed his shock and disappointment at the Islanders’ Test schedule for 2025, which he describes as “absolutely shocking”. In a heartfelt post on social media, Mathews criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for scheduling only four Test matches for Sri Lanka in the whole of 2025.
Having last played on Sri Lanka’s Test tour to South Africa in December 2024, Angelo Mathews was shocked to learn that only two Tests would be played before mid-February against Australia at home.
Angelo Mathews stunned by Sri Lanka’s Test calendar
Thereafter, the Sri Lankan cricket team will focus primarily on limited-overs cricket, with 13 ODIs and 12 T20Is set before November 2025. The Sri Lankan cricket team’s participation in the longest format of the game will be limited to just four matches, ending with two more Test against Bangladesh at home until June 2025.
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This is just the start of a lean period for Sri Lankan Test cricket, with just eight more Test matches scheduled for 2026 and 2027 in the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle. Namely, Sri Lanka should host Australia in a two-match test series in January and February. The first test will be played from January 29 in Galle.
Angelo Mathews slams ICC for limited Test options for Sri Lanka 2025
Tagging the ICC in his post on social networking site X, Angelo Mathews shared his views on the Sri Lankan team’s Test schedule this year: “Absolutely shocking to hear that Sri Lanka are playing only 4 Test matches this whole year, including the Aus Tests this month.”
Absolutely shocking to hear that sri lanka are only playing 4 test matches this whole year including the aus tests this month @ICC .
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) January 6, 2025
Veteran cricketer Angel Mathews’ outburst has sparked widespread concern about the future of Test cricket in Sri Lanka, as the focus seems to have shifted entirely to limited-overs cricket.
Notably, the 37-year-old Mathews last played for Sri Lanka in ODIs during the 2023 World Cup and in T20Is at the T20 World Cup last year. Now, the senior all-rounder mainly plays Test cricket and recently became only the third Sri Lankan player to score more than 8,000 runs in the traditional format of the game.
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In the current cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, Sri Lanka is scheduled for 13 Tests. From the 11 games played so far, they have won five and are fifth in the standings. Only Bangladesh (12 Tests) and South Africa (12 Tests) have played fewer Tests, while England (22 Tests), Australia (19 Tests) and India (19 Tests) lead the charts.
Mathews’ comments come on the same day that reports suggested India, England and Australia, along with the ICC, were considering a two-tier testing system after the next WTC cycle ends. Namely, India and England should play a total of 10 Test matches this year, while Australia has seven Tests in its schedule this year.
