Sri Lanka Cricket’s newly appointed Interim Committee will hold its first formal meeting on Wednesday, with the country’s year-long absence from Test cricket at the top of the agenda, The Island reported.
Sri Lanka last played a Test match in June 2025 and is not scheduled to take the field in whites again until June 2026 — leaving the longest format dormant for a full calendar year. Senior players, particularly red-ball specialists, have raised the issue repeatedly with the previous administration, only to be told that Test cricket “doesn’t pay its way” or that the World Test Championship cycle leaves no room to manoeuvre.
The Interim Committee, headed by Eran Wickramaratne under Sports Law No. 25 of 1973, is reported to be open to two structural changes. The first is extending home Test series from the typical two-match minimum to three-match contests, which would give the format more room to develop. The second is scheduling fixtures outside the WTC cycle against teams such as Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland — opportunities the previous administration under Shammi Silva was accused of letting “gather dust.”
Sri Lanka’s Test calendar over the past five years ranks among the leanest in world cricket. Observers point out that even during the height of the country’s three-decade civil war, the national side played more Test matches than it does today.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva has raised the Test drought at multiple forums. Promises were made last year — including talk of a series against Pakistan in November 2025 — that did not materialise. Critics within the dressing room said the cupboard was “almost bare.”
Under the WTC framework, opponents are fixed by the International Cricket Council, but series length is left to bilateral negotiation. Sri Lanka has consistently opted for the two-Test minimum, a pattern The Island said reflects financial caution by the previous regime rather than cricketing logic.
Source: The Island — Rex Clementine.
