Angelo Mathews ‘absolutely shocked’ by Sri Lanka’s 2025 cricket schedule

• Having last featured in Sri Lanka's tour to South Africa last December, Mathews on Monday said he was shocked that the team will be playing only four Tests this year, two of which will be completed before mid-February against Australia at home.

Veteran Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews is disappointed at the number of Test matches his side will play in the 2025 calendar year.

Having last featured in Sri Lanka’s tour to South Africa last December, Mathews on Monday said he was shocked that the team will be playing only four Tests this year, two of which will be completed before mid-February against Australia at home.

Besides the Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup T20s, Sri Lanka are slated to play 13 ODIs and 12 T20Is by November 2025 before resuming action in January 2026. The scheduled Future Tours Program will mean that Sri Lanka’s representation in whites this year will be wrapped up by June when they host Bangladesh in two Tests in the new 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle.

Sri Lanka play the least Tests in the next cycle, with only eight more matches scheduled in 2026 and 2027.

Tagging the International Cricket Council in his post on X, Mathews wrote: “Absolutely shocking to hear that Sri Lanka is only playing 4 test matches this entire year including the Aus Tests this month.”

Having last represented Sri Lanka in ODIs at the World Cup in 2023 and T20Is at the T20 World Cup last year, the 37-year-old Mathews is limited to Test appearances and recently became only the third Lankan batter to cross 8000 Test runs.

In the ongoing 2023-25 edition of the WTC, Sri Lanka have been marked 13 Tests. From 11 completed games, Sri Lanka won five matches and remain fifth in the standings. Only Bangladesh (12) and South Africa (12) have played fewer Tests, with England (22), Australia (19) and India (19) topping the charts. Mathews’ comments come on a day when reports have suggested that cricket’s Big 3 and the ICC are mulling a two-tier Test system after the conclusion of the next World Test Championship cycle. (indianexpress)