Angelo Mathews slams ICC over Sri Lanka’s 2025 Test schedule

07 January, 2025

Taking to social media, Mathews criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC), expressing shock at the limited number of matches allocated to his team.

“Absolutely shocking to hear that Sri Lanka is only playing four Test matches this entire year, including the Australia Tests this month,” Mathews posted on X tagging the ICC.

According to the Future Tours Program (FTP), Sri Lanka will play just four Test matches in 2025.

Two of these matches will be completed by mid-February against Australia, with the remaining two scheduled against Bangladesh in June, marking the start of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

Sri Lanka’s Test schedule for the ongoing 2023-25 WTC edition has been similarly lean, with the team playing 13 matches — only marginally ahead of Bangladesh and South Africa, who have each played 12 Tests.

The future looks even bleaker, with Sri Lanka slated to play only eight Tests across 2026 and 2027.

Mathews’ frustration comes amid reports that the ICC is deliberating a two-tier Test system to prioritise fixtures involving the so-called "Big Three" cricketing nations: India, Australia and England.

The Age has reported that ICC Chairman Jay Shah is scheduled to meet with Cricket Australia Chair Mike Baird and England Cricket Board Chair Richard Thompson this month to discuss details of the proposal.

The two-tier Test system, floated as a concept since 2016, faced significant opposition from the BCCI, Zimbabwe Cricket and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, primarily due to concerns over reduced revenue for lower-ranked teams.

Any implementation would only begin after the current FTP ends in 2027.

As one of the historically strong cricketing nations outside the "Big Three," Sri Lanka’s Test schedule reflects broader concerns about the disparity in fixtures among teams.

With the ICC focusing on expanding its limited-overs calendar and catering to lucrative markets, smaller cricketing nations like Sri Lanka risk further marginalisation in the longest format of the game.