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The picturesque Galle International Cricket Stadium will host the Sri Lanka-West Indies Tests
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Sri Lanka’s international cricket calendar for 2022Jan – Zimbabwe to Sri Lanka (3 ODIs, 2 T20Is) (postponed from 2020) |
Sri Lanka will launch their campaign for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) second edition by hosting West Indies for a 2-Test series in November.
Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva said that the 2 Tests will be played immediately after the T20 World Cup ends in UAE on 14 November. The 2 Tests are scheduled to be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium and will commence on 21 November. When the two sides met in the first edition of the WTC, the 2 Tests played in the Caribbean ended in draws.
Soon after the West Indies series, SLC will commence the Lanka Premier League 2nd edition which is slated to be played from 4 to 23 December.
Sri Lanka played 3 Test series before the advent of COVID-19 – two away against South Africa and West Indies and one at home against England. Post-COVID-19 Sri Lanka played a further 2 Tests against Bangladesh at home in April and had a 2-Test tour to Bangladesh in December this year postponed to May 2022.
Thus for 2021, a year where all countries were concentrating largely on playing white ball cricket with the T20 World Cup in the UAE in October in mind, Sri Lanka will conclude the year with a total of 9 Tests.
For the year 2022 Sri Lanka has scheduled a total of 10 Tests – all of which are part of the ICC World Test Championship second edition. 2022 is also the year for the postponed T20 World Cup in Australia (deferred from 2020), but it has not so far affected the Test program of Sri Lanka. Australia and Pakistan are due to tour Sri Lanka between May and August for 2 Tests each, and Sri Lanka is scheduled to tour India in March, Bangladesh in May and New Zealand in November-December (to be confirmed), each series comprising 2 Tests.
Thus, for players like Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews who have been left in the wilderness by the irrational policy of the national selectors and the Cricket Advisory Committee who sidelined them from white ball cricket, 2022 could be a year for them to show what they are capable of in red ball cricket. Since the player contract dispute arose in May, these cricketers have had no international cricket at all. With the present COVID-19 lockdowns experienced in the country, neither has there been any domestic competitions. Hence these players if they are selected are likely to go into the West Indies series short of match practice because the last Test Sri Lanka played was against Bangladesh in April. The first edition of the World Test Championship was not a fruitful one for Sri Lanka finishing 9th out of 10th in the final qualifying standings with 2 wins, 6 losses and 4 draws out of 12 Tests and 200 points. This year they are scheduled to play West Indies, Australia and Pakistan (all at home) and India, Bangladesh and New Zealand (all away) to finish in the top two positions to qualify for a place in the final. India and New Zealand finished one-two in the first edition qualifying to play in the final at Southampton with New Zealand going on to become the first holders of the ICC Test Championship mace.
Apart from the 10 Tests, Sri Lanka’s international schedule for 2022 also comprises at least 19 ODIs and 13 T20Is.
Sri Lanka and West Indies played out a nil-all drawn 2-Test series in the Caribbean early this year
