SRI LANKA CRICKET NEWS
(MAY 2025)
Compiled by Victor Melder
Sri Lanka Cricket has announced a major step toward improving national fielding standards by bringing in former India fielding coach R. Sridhar for a specialized 10-day training program starting May 7. Sridhar, a highly experienced BCCI Level 3 certified coach, served as India’s fielding coach from 2014 to 2021, contributing to over 300 international matches. His expertise will now benefit Sri Lankan cricketers across different levels. The intensive program will cover men’s and women’s national squads, Emerging squads, Premier Club players, the National U-19 team, and the Women’s ‘A’ team. Beginning with the Sri Lanka National Men’s team, Sridhar will progressively work with other squads, focusing on fielding drills, skill-based training, and match simulations designed to replicate game conditions. urthermore, Sridhar will collaborate closely with National, High Performance, and Club Coaches, ensuring a comprehensive approach to fielding improvement across the country’s cricketing system. With Sri Lanka looking to refine its overall game, this initiative marks a crucial investment in fielding—a key area in modern cricket that often determines match outcomes. (Ceylon Today, 6.5.2025)
The Bangladesh National Men’s Cricket Team is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka from mid-June to mid-July 2025 for a comprehensive bilateral series. This highly anticipated tour will feature two Test matches, three One Day Internationals (ODIs), and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), offering cricket fans an exciting mix of formats. The Tigers will arrive in Sri Lanka on 13 June, kicking off what promises to be a competitive and action-packed month of cricket between two evenly matched sides. The tour begins with the traditional Test format, followed by the limited-overs games in both ODI and T20I formats. The red-ball leg of the tour opens with the 1st Test from 17 to 21 June at the picturesque Galle International Cricket Stadium (GICS). The teams will then move to Colombo for the 2nd Test, scheduled from 25 to 29 June at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground. The ODI series kicks off on 2 July with the 1st ODI under lights at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS) in Colombo. The 2nd and 3rd ODIs are set for 5 July (RPICS) and 8 July at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (PICS). Following the ODI series, attention will shift to the T20I series, beginning on 10 July with the 1st T20I at PICS, Pallekele. The second game will take place on 13 July at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (RDICS). The tour concludes with the 3rd T20I under lights on 16 July back at RPICS, Colombo. This tour comes at a critical time for both teams as they prepare for the upcoming Asia cup to be held later in September. (Ceylon Today, 6.5.2025)
Sri Lanka have climbed to fourth place in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings following the annual update released by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The island nation has enjoyed a significant resurgence in one-day cricket over the past year, and their recent form has earned them a five-point boost in their rating. This improvement has propelled them above teams like Pakistan and South Africa, placing them just behind the top three ODI sides — India, Australia, and England. Sri Lanka’s rise in the rankings is largely due to their dominant performances at home. The team recorded impressive series victories over cricketing heavyweights India and Australia, demonstrating a consistent all-round game. Their bowling unit has shown remarkable discipline, while the batting lineup has displayed both flair and maturity under pressure. A key factor in this turnaround has been the leadership of head coach Sanath Jayasuriya and skipper Charith Asalanka. The new-look Sri Lankan side under their guidance appears focused, disciplined, and determined to re-establish itself as a force in international cricket. Jayasuriya, a former great himself, has emphasised aggressive yet smart cricket, while Asalanka has led by example, both tactically and with the bat. Young talents such as Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, and Janith Liyanage have injected energy and skill into the team, complementing the experience of senior players. The team’s balance and unity have drawn praise from former players and analysts alike. This is Sri Lanka’s highest ODI ranking since 2015. From a low point at the bottom of the table in 2021, the team has steadily climbed — finishing 8th in 2022, 7th in 2023, and 6th in early 2024. With major ICC tournaments on the horizon, Sri Lanka’s surge in the rankings is a timely morale booster. (Ceylon Today, 6.5.2025)
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) recently carried out a Fast Bowling Talent Search program in the Polonnaruwa District as part of its ongoing efforts to identify and nurture emerging cricketing talent across the country. The program, held at the Royal College Ground, Polonnaruwa, attracted over 60 promising young players—both boys and girls—including school cricketers of the district. Each participant underwent skill assessments to evaluate their fast bowling potential. Following the evaluations, 20 talented bowlers were selected for further development. The selected players will now receive structured training under the guidance of Provincial coaches of Sri Lanka Cricket, with a focus on refining their techniques and enhancing their overall performance. Those who continue to demonstrate consistent improvement will be given the opportunity to join SLC’s district squads, thereby becoming part of the official National Pathway Program. This initiative is a part of SLC’s ‘Cricket Gamata’, program which aims to find talent from rural areas across Sri Lanka.The talent assessments were conducted by Lasantha Lakmin, SLC Talent Scout for the North Central and North Western Provinces; Lakshitha Herath, North Central Provincial Women’s Coach; and Saman Senanayake, North Central Provincial Fast Bowling Coach. The event was organized by the North Central Provincial Cricket Association under the guidance of Sri Lanka Cricket. It was managed by Krishan Anandakumar, Manager of the Center of Excellence, Dambulla. (Daily Island, 15.5.2025)
Veteran Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews has announced his retirement from Test cricket. Mathews conveyed his decision through a post on his official handle on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Mathews revealed that the inaugural match of the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh next month will be his final appearance for Sri Lanka in whites. However, he clarified that he would be available for selection in white-ball cricket.(Daily Mirror, 23.5.2025
The winners of the World Test Championship [WTC] final, to be played between South Africa and Australia at Lord’s starting June 11, will secure a prize money of USD 3.6 million, more than double of the winners in the last two cycles. The runners-up, meanwhile, will bag more than USD 2.1 million, while the prize for the same in the previous editions was USD 800,000. The winners in the last two cycles — New Zealand and Australia — had earned USD 1.6 million each.“The increase in prize money exhibits the ICC’s efforts to prioritize Test cricket as it looks to build on the momentum of the first three cycles of the nine-team competition,” the ICC said in its release. India, who finished third on the table, will receive over USD 1.4 million, while fourth-placed New Zealand get USD 1.2 million. Even the prize money for teams finishing fifth (USD 960000) and sixth (USD 840000) — England and Sri Lanka — is more than what it was for the runners-up in the previous editions. South Africa topped the table in the 2023-25 edition with eight wins from 12 games, and were the first team to seal a final spot with a dramatic two-wicket win over Pakistan. Defending champions Australia got through by pipping India to the second spot after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 at home. Both teams have named their squads for the final. The focus for South Africa will be on their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada after his one-month ban for failing a drug test, while Cameron Green makes his return to Australia’s Test side after undergoing a lower spine surgery last year. (Island, 16.5.2025)
The writ petitions filed by Sri Lanka National Cricket players challenging the classification of Sri Lanka’s national cricketers as employees of the national association, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) were today fixed for further hearing on May 28 by the Court of Appeal. Court of Appeal (Acting President) Justice Mohammed Laffar and Justice K. Priyantha Fernando issued this order pursuant to writ petitions filed by ODI Captain Charith Asalanka, Test Captain Dhananjaya de Silva, and national women’s cricketers Chamari Athapaththu and Anushka Sanjeewani. Counsel Nishan Premathirathne, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, stated in court that the petitioner cricketers are not employees of Sri Lanka Cricket. He argued that the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue has incorrectly interpreted national-level cricketers as employees of Sri Lanka Cricket under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act No. 45 of 2022. President’s Counsel Kuvera de Zoysa, appearing for Sri Lanka Cricket, also stated that the petitioners are not employees but rather independent service providers. Deputy Solicitor General Manohara Jayasinghe, appearing for the respondents, maintained that players who have entered into contracts with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board are interpreted as its employees under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act. The petitioners file these applications seeking judicial review on behalf of all national cricketers of Sri Lanka who are deeply affected by the alleged arbitrary and unlawful decisions of the IRD and the actions of the SLC on categorising national contracted cricketers as employees of SLC. The petitioners filed the petition seeking for notice to quash the decision of the Inland Revenue Department and an interim order to suspend the decision of the IRD. (Daily Mirror, 23.5.2025)
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Sri Lanka will play against Bangladesh in the first Test at Galle from June 17 to 21 and the second Test at SSC from June 25-29. This will be Sri Lanka’s first series of the World Test Championship (2025-27).In the meantime National selection committee headed by Upul Tharanga is hoping to give a chance to one or two new players during this two test series. Even though selectors are not hoping to do big changes in the squad, this Test series will be a good test for new players. Retirement of former experienced opener Dimuth Karunaratne makes the way to a new opener while former skipper Angelo Matthews also announced his retirement from Test after the first Bangladesh Test in Galle. This will offer an opportunity for a middle order batting all-rounder to enter the Test team. Players like opener Lahiru Udara and young all- rounder Sonal Dinusha were in the Test squad against Australia in the last Test series but both of them did not get an opportunity to enter the final eleven. The 31-year-old NCC opener Lahiru Udara was in good form during Sri Lanka ‘A’ series and he has scored 7305 runs in 105 first class matches. Sonal Dinusha the all-rounder from CCC has shown his potential knocking on the door of the Test side. The 24-year-old left hand batsman and left arm orthodox spinner Dinusha has played 48 first class matches having 2478 runs with seven hundreds and 12 fifties. He has taken 99 first class wickets with best figures of 8 for 67 and is also a good fielder in any position. Both Udara and Dinusha are front runners to enter the Test team. In addition Pasindu Sooriyabandara the 25-year-old right hander and 22-year-old right hander Pavan Ratnayake have also shown consistent batting performances and are hot candidates for the National team. Sooriyabandara also gave good leadership for Sri Lanka ‘A’ team on the recent tours while Ratnayake has shown his ability to bat especially in pressure situations and selectors are seriously looking at these players for the forthcoming selections. Sri Lanka Cricket recently arranged more Sri Lanka A series for the players exposure while once again Sri Lanka A is to tour Australia. (Daily News, 28.5.2025)
