&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "India to play 18 Tests, AUS 22 and SL just 12 in next WTC cycle – Mathews exposes disparity in red-ball cricket calendar")
Sri Lanka will play just 12 matches in the next WTC cycle, while India is playing 18, and Australia leads the chart with 22 scheduled Tests in the course of the next two years.
Considering the finances, engagement and revenue, are behind the Big Three (AUS, IND and ENG) getting the biggest chunk of schedule in red-ball cricket, Mathews, who plays his last Test against Bangladesh starting Tuesday (June 17) in Galle, has batted for more Tests for teams outside of them, labelling it sad for them and the game.
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Let alone in the next WTC cycle (2025-27), where Sri Lanka plays a dozen Tests – the joint-lowest alongside Bangladesh, they are scheduled to play just four matches this year – their lowest in a calendar year since 2013. Playing even fewer games than they did in the previous cycle (2023-25), Mathews feels like those teams have achieved a lot across formats, even Sri Lanka has, and like them, Sri Lanka also deserves to play more matches.
"I think it's quite sad, to be honest," Mathews said ahead of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Galle. "I mean, the younger generation are urging for more Test cricket. Test cricket is obviously the pinnacle of cricket. We all should push for more Tests. These guys are so enthusiastic about Test cricket.
"I feel there has to be a minimum of 10 matches at least [in a year]. Teams like England, India or Australia are playing 15-plus games a year. Why can't we play? We can. If we keep pushing, I mean, we have to. We have won World Cups. We have done so much for cricket as a nation, and we deserve to play Test cricket, just like Australia, India and England,” he continued.
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Although Mathews is not the first and only Sri Lankan to complain about it on a public forum, his decision to retire from the format in which he’s played 118 matches due to this same reason is what concerns Test cricket lovers.
"I played my 100th Test in Galle, so I thought I'd say goodbye in Galle. But the main reason was because we don't have any games coming up, at least for now. After this, we'll be having our next assignment in Test cricket after a year's time, that is a very long wait," Mathews noted.
"I thought it's good to give an opportunity to whoever is going to replace me in the second Test because he's not going to get an opportunity till the next year (laughs). And in that year, you don't know what's going to happen. So I thought I'd just play one game and then try and give an opportunity to the other guy who's replacing me in the second Test,” he concluded.
