- White-ball assignments to tide over
Sri Lanka will have only two Test series to play in 2025, as per the Future Tours Programme (FTP) that has been formulated by the International Cricket Council (ICC), in conjunction with its stakeholders, a perusal of the schedule by The Daily Morning Sports, shows.
Dhananjaya de Silva’s men will kick off their red-ball assignments in the new year, by hosting reigning ICC Test world champions Australia for a two-match series in January.
Afterwards the Test team will have a break of five months, when they host South-Asian neighbours Bangladesh, in a similar series and following its conclusion, they will have no further Tests to contest for the remainder of 2025.
The short home series against Bangladesh, will also be Sri Lanka’s first engagement in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Cycle for 2025-27.
However, this sequence is set to change drastically in 2026, when Sri Lanka is scheduled to feature in six Tests (two each) against West Indies, India and Pakistan, respectively.
The Lankans are due to tour the Caribbean in June 2026 for a two-match Test series, while they are then slated to host India in August, after which they are scheduled to visit Pakistan in October-November, with both series to consist of two Tests.
When contacted, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashley de Silva said that as all ICC Test nations have agreed to abide by the FTP, Sri Lanka has no other alternative, but to stick with the match schedule that is on offer.
“Compared to 2024, in 25 there is a sizable reduction of Tests that we (Sri Lanka) are bound to play,” he said.
“But, whether we like it or not, that is the FTP schedule that all ICC member nations have approved to go by, and mid-way through, it cannot be altered. This scenario is applicable to others as well and it is not merely confined to Sri Lanka. In certain years some teams tend to get a sizable allocation of Tests, ODIs and T20Is, while some will get only half of that. That is the way it has been drawn up,” he said.
The SLC CEO also added that in 2025, Sri Lanka will have a surfeit of white-ball assignments, to tide over the scarcity of red-ball ties.
As per the FTP, Charith Asalanka’s team is scheduled to play in 15 ODIs and 13 T20Is next year, with the Asia Cup also being sandwiched around September.
Sri Lanka’s One-Day International squad is set to commence 2025, with a three-match series away to New Zealand next month, after which they will host Bangladesh for a three-match series in June-July.
Immediately afterwards, in August-September, the islanders are due to fly out to Zimbabwe for a white-ball series and once back home, they are slated to host Ireland for three ODIs.
The Lankans will conclude their shorter format assignments for 2025, by undertaking a tour of Pakistan in November, while their T20I campaign will encompass a game against the Black Caps and further ties against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Pakistan, respectively.
Sri Lanka would have had an even bigger load of One-Day Internationals to contend with next year, but for their failure to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and UAE, by virtue of their elimination ahead of the Super-Round of the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in India.