The international cricket calendar these days feels like a cake with a quarter already sliced off – thanks to the glitz and glamour of the Indian Premier League. What was once a year-round schedule has now unofficially surrendered March to May, with bilateral cricket taking a back seat during that window. It’s as if the cricketing fraternity has struck a gentleman’s agreement to steer clear of international duty when the IPL juggernaut rolls in.
In theory, the hiatus offers players a breather, but in reality, it’s a double-edged sword. The rest of the year now resembles a T20 powerplay – fast, furious and unforgiving. There’s barely time to squeeze in warm-up matches or side games, those vital outings where batters iron out flaws and bowlers regain their rhythm. But such is life in modern cricket – adapt or perish.
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After a prolonged layoff, the Sri Lankan team is back in business, hosting Bangladesh in a multi-format series. The first Test in Galle will mark not just a return to the whites, but also the opening salvo of the new ICC World Test Championship cycle.
With Angelo Mathews hanging up his boots and Dimuth Karunaratne already out of the picture, there’s a vacuum in the top order. The selectors now face the million-dollar question – who steps up to the plate? Several batters have been quietly stacking up runs in the domestic circuit and with the ‘A’ team, waiting for that long-awaited national cap.
Over the last 15 months, Sri Lanka’s graph has been on the up across formats. Heading into Christmas last year, Dhananjaya de Silva’s side was still in with a sniff of reaching the WTC final. With matches in Durban, Port Elizabeth, and Galle, there was genuine belief that something magical could be conjured.
But cricket, like life, is full of bouncers. Despite an early arrival in South Africa, Sri Lanka’s campaign fell apart at the seams. The batters looked like deer caught in the headlights, undone by the extra bounce – a challenge they had handled admirably in previous tours.
>>Getting serious about fielding<<
Then came the Australian tour – a whitewash. Sri Lanka were skittled out in both Tests, looking as lost as a tailender facing express pace under lights. They ended sixth in the WTC standings and remain in the same spot in the ICC Test rankings.
The real turnaround, however, has come in the ODI format. Back-to-back series wins against heavyweights India and Australia have propelled Sri Lanka to fourth in the rankings. In T20s, though, it’s still a rebuilding job. Ranked seventh and co-hosting the 2026 T20 World Cup alongside India, the team has a lot of work to do.
What’s heartening is the renewed focus on fielding and fitness – long the Achilles heel of Sri Lankan cricket. Players are throwing themselves around like panthers in the ring and have clearly been put through the wringer by the trainers.
For the first time in more than a decade, Sri Lankans are making waves in the ICC individual rankings. Maheesh Theekshana sits atop the ODI bowling charts. Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga and Prabath Jayasuriya – all feature in the top ten across formats. Not too long ago, we couldn’t buy a place on those lists.
These green shoots are no accident. Strengthening the domestic structure, pumping more cricket through the ‘A’ team pipeline and beefing up the Development squad – the building blocks are finally falling into place. Injuries, once a recurring nightmare, are now being managed better with the High Performance Centre’s physiotherapy unit stepping up its game. Early detection, workload management and robust rehab protocols are slowly but surely keeping players off the treatment table and on the park.
As for the Bangladesh series, Sri Lanka will be eager to wipe the slate clean. While they’ve historically bossed the Tigers in Tests, recent encounters have left bruises. Bangladesh’s controversial win in Delhi during the World Cup knocked Sri Lanka out of Champions Trophy contention. Then in Dallas, they threw another spanner in the works by knocking us out of the T20 World Cup’s second round.
The Sri Lankans will want to show that those stumbles were mere lapses – not the measure of this team’s potential.
