Sri Lanka's veteran 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 candid post on social media, Mathews slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for scheduling only four Test matches for Sri Lanka in the entire year 2025.
Having last played in Sri Lanka's Test tour of 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 amazed by Sri Lanka's Test schedule
After that, the Sri Lankan cricket team will focus primarily on limited overs cricket with 13 ODIs and 12 T20Is lined up before November 2025. The Sri Lankan cricket team's participation in the longest format of the game will be limited in just four games. , concluding with two more Tests 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 Test matches scheduled for 2026 and 2027 in the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle. Notably, Sri Lanka are set to host Australia in a two-match Test series in January-February. The first Test will be played from January 29 in Galle.
Angelo Mathews slams ICC for limited Test opportunities for Sri Lanka in 2025
Tagging the ICC in his post on his social network X, Angelo Mathews shared his thoughts on the Sri Lankan team's Test schedule for this year: “Absolutely shocking to hear that Sri Lanka are only playing 4 Test matches this year , including Aus. Test this month.”
Absolutely shocking to hear that srilanka are only playing 4 test matches this year including the aus tests this month @ICC .
— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) January 6, 2025
Veteran cricketer Angelo Mathews' outburst has sparked widespread concern about the future of Test cricket in Sri Lanka as the focus seems to shift 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 last year's T20 World Cup. Now, the senior all-rounder mostly plays Test cricket and recently became only the third Sri Lankan batsman to score more than 8000 runs in the traditional format of the game.
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In the current cycle of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC), Sri Lanka has been scheduled for 13 Tests. Out of the 11 games they have played so far, they have won five and are fifth in the table. Only Bangladesh (12 Tests) and South Africa (12 Tests) have played fewer Tests, while England (22 Tests), Australia (19 Tests) and India (19 Tests) top the list.
Mathews' comments come on the same day reports suggest that India, England and Australia, along with the ICC, are considering a two-tier Test system after the end of the next WTC cycle. Notably, India and England are scheduled to play a total of 10 Test matches each this year, while Australia have seven Tests in their schedule this year.