Legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews expressed his annoyance and worry about the absence of Test cricket for countries other than Australia, England, and India. On June 17, after the first Test match against Bangladesh at Galle, the veteran will hang his boots from the red-ball format.
In 2025, Sri Lanka will participate in four Test matches, the fewest in a calendar year since 2013. During the two-year 2023–25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, Australia, India, and England each participated in at least 19 Test matches. South Africa, the WTC champion, played 13.
Angelo Mathews thought the team ought to have played more Test matches. He said the young players are eager to play as much red-ball cricket as they can for their country.
“To be honest, I find it rather depressing. The younger generation is calling for more Test cricket, after all. The ultimate form of cricket is undoubtedly test cricket. We should all advocate for additional tests.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Angelo Mathews stated, “These guys are so enthusiastic about Test cricket.”
“I think there should be at least ten games [per year].” Teams like Australia, India, and England play more than 15 games annually. Why are we unable to play? Yes, we can. I mean, we really must if we continue to press. World Cups have been won by us. Like Australia, India, and England, we deserve to play Test cricket because of all that we have done for the game as a country,” he continued.
Angelo Mathews announced that he will be retiring from Test cricket and that there won’t be any more matches for a year. He said that since others won’t get an opportunity until the following year, it is beneficial to give them one.
“I assumed I’d say goodbye in Galle, where I played my 100th Test. However, the primary reason was that, at least for the time being, we don’t have any games scheduled. It would be a year before we get our next Test cricket assignment, which is a very lengthy wait,” Angelo Mathews added.
Since the person who will take my place in the second Test won’t have another chance until the following year, I figured it would be wise to give him a chance (laughs). And you have no idea what will occur in that year. Therefore, I decided to play one match before attempting to give the other player who will be taking my place in the second Test a chance,” he said.
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