Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has expressed his deep concerns regarding the strikingly limited Test schedule for the national men’s cricket team in 2025.
Sri Lanka is set to play a meagre four Test matches this year according to the ICC’s Future Tours Program (FTP).
They are scheduled to play a two-match Test series against Australia, one of the finalists of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.
After the series against Australia in February, Sri Lanka will play the remaining two matches against Bangladesh in June.
The series against Bangladesh will be Sri Lanka’s first in the 2025-27 ICC WTC cycle. It’s worth noting that Sri Lanka are set to play only eight Test matches in 2026 and 2027.
Reflecting on the current period, Sri Lanka’s Test schedule for the ongoing 2023-25 WTC edition has also been notably sparse, with them participating in merely 13 Test matches.
This number is only slightly higher than that of Bangladesh and South Africa, who have each completed 12 Tests.
Angelo Mathews took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and raised concerns over the limited number of matches his team is scheduled to play.
“Absolutely shocking to hear that Sri Lanka is only playing four Test matches this entire year, including the Australia Tests this month,” Mathews posted.
It’s worth noting that according to reports, the ICC is considering implementing a two-tier structure in Test cricket.
The Herald reported on Tuesday that Australia, England, India and the ICC’s new chairman Jay Shah would meet this month to discuss a two-tier structure.
Any move to two divisions would kick in after the end of the current Future Tours Programme in 2027, it added, citing sources with knowledge of the talks.
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