Sri Lanka’s veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews has expressed his shock and disappointment over the Islanders’ Test schedule for 2025, which he described as “absolutely shocking”. In a heartfelt 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.
Angelo Mathews, who last played in Sri Lanka’s Test tour of South Africa in December 2024, was shocked to learn that only two Tests against Australia on home soil will be played until mid-February.
Angelo Mathews was stunned by Sri Lanka’s Test schedule
After that, the Sri Lankan cricket team will focus on limited-overs cricket with 13 ODIs and 12 T20Is till November 2025. The Sri Lankan cricket team’s participation in the longest format of the game will be limited to just four matches. , which will conclude with two more Tests against Bangladesh at home until June 2025.
Also Read: Basit Ali tells Gautam Gambhir to follow Aaqib Javed’s philosophy and drop Kohli, Rohit
This is just the start of a lean period for Sri Lankan Test cricket, with eight more Test matches scheduled for 2026 and 2027 during the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle. It should be noted that Sri Lanka will host Australia in a two-match test series in January-February. The first Test will be played in Galle from January 29.
Angelo Mathews criticizes ICC for limited Test opportunities for Sri Lanka in 2025
Angelo Mathews, who mentions the ICC in a post on social media handle X, shared his thoughts on Sri Lanka’s Test schedule for this year: “Absolutely shocked to hear that Sri Lanka have played only 4 test matches this year including Aus. Tests this month.”
It’s absolutely shocking to hear that sri lanka have played only 4 test matches in the whole 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 have shifted entirely to limited-overs cricket.
Notably, the 37-year-old Mathews last played in an ODI in Sri Lanka during the 2023 World Cup and a T20I in the T20 World Cup last year. The great all-rounder now plays mostly Test cricket and recently became the third Sri Lankan to score more than 8,000 runs in the traditional format of the game.
The Big Three India, England and Australia are pushing for major changes at the WTC
Sri Lanka are scheduled for 13 Tests during the current 2023-25 ​​World Test Championship (WTC). They have won 5 of their 11 games so far and are ranked 5th in the tournament 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 table.
Matthews’ comments on the same day suggested that India, England and Australia, along with the ICC, were considering a two-tier Test system after the end of the next WTC cycle. Notably, India and England are scheduled to play 10 Test matches each this year, while Australia have seven Tests on their schedule this year.
 for scheduling only four Test matches for Sri Lanka in the entire year 2025.){kind=link}