Veteran all-rounder has expressed his disappointment over the limited number of Test matches scheduled for Sri Lanka in the 2025 calendar year.
Having last played for Sri Lanka during their tour of South Africa in December 2024, Mathews voiced his concerns on Monday, describing the situation as “shocking,” on social media. He wrote, “Absolutely shocking to hear that srilanka is only playing 4 test matches this entire year including the aus tests this month @ICC”
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 remarks coincide with reports suggesting that cricket’s “Big Three” nations (India,England and Australia) and the ICC are considering introducing a two-tier Test system after the conclusion of the current WTC cycle, a move likely to further impact smaller cricketing nations like Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s Test schedule for 2025
Sri Lanka is set to play only four Test matches in 2025, with two against Australia at home between January end and first week of February. The remaining two Tests will be played in June against Bangladesh, marking the start of the 2025-27 ICC (WTC) cycle.
Now 37 years old, Mathews has transitioned to focusing solely on Test cricket, having last represented Sri Lanka in ODIs during the 2023 World Cup and T20Is at the 2022 T20 World Cup. Recently, he became only the fourth Sri Lankan batter to surpass 8,000 Test runs.
Sri Lanka’s 2025 cricket schedule
Besides the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup T20s, Sri Lanka’s schedule for 2025 includes 13 ODIs and 12 T20Is, all to be completed by November. Test cricket will resume for Sri Lanka only in January 2026.
In the ongoing 2023-25 WTC cycle, Sri Lanka has been allocated 13 Tests, out of which they have played 11, winning five and currently standing fifth in the rankings.
