Sri Lanka wants closer cricket ties with India, more Test tours

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Sri Lanka Cricket interim committee chairman Eran Wickramaratne. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Strengthening the cricketing ties between India and Sri Lanka and an appraisal of the way the game is governed in the Emerald Isle were discussed in an interaction between the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Transformation Committee members and the visiting Indian media on Saturday (August 22, 2026) night.

“Our cricketing ties go back a 100 years; we have had the Gopalan Trophy (Ceylon vs Tamil Nadu) before, and then the relationship widened to Tests, ODIs and T20Is. We want to strengthen that relationship further. We had the Asian Cricket Council meeting, and I also had a chat with Mr. Jay Shah of the ICC, and we want to work together in taking cricket forward,” said Eran Wickramaratne, chairman of the Transformation Committee, busy implementing administrative reforms in the SLC.

Former Sri Lankan openers Sidath Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama, besides the legendary Kumar Sangakkara, also participated in the informal discussion. Reacting to the long gaps between India’s Test tours of Sri Lanka, Wettimuny said: “It’s the international calendar which is causing this issue. As far as we are concerned, we would like to play India every year. Not only us, but the entire world would want it. But tours are determined by the ICC’s Future Tours Programme and it is always packed.”

Adding to what Wettimuny said, Mahanama said: “India, England and Australia are the teams that the entire world is looking at playing against and we want to make sure that we get tours from these countries. We also need to find a balance, in 2029 we will be playing 10 Tests while this year we have hardly played anything.”

While hoping that the constitutional changes will take Sri Lankan cricket forward, Wickramaratne also said: “Given the geopolitics, I think Sri Lanka is uniquely placed.” He was hinting at Sri Lanka being a neutral venue, like how it was with the last T20 World Cup’s game between India and Pakistan.

The construction of a stadium in Jaffna and the probable need for Indian investors were also mentioned. “We are treating our administration in an apolitical way. There is no (political) pressure,” Wickramaratne said.

Asked about the probable new format of Test20, Sangakkara said: “The two innings form, right? I think innovation is good as long as it brings new fans to the game. It has to be relevant. The whole point is to gain the support of a new generation of fans.”

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