NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka's opening Test against New Zealand at Galle next month has been allocated six days with a rest day included to accommodate country's presidential election.
The first Test will begin on September 18, and a rest day is planned for September 21.
The decision is aligned with the "Presidential Election of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka", stated an ICC release on Friday.
This is the first time in over two decades that Sri Lanka is hosting a six-day Test match. The last such instance was in Colombo against Zimbabwe in 2001, where a rest day was scheduled due to Poya Day, which is a full moon day.
The two-match series is a part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle.
The second Test is scheduled to be played at the same venue from September 26-30.
Rest days were a common feature in Test cricket in the last century, with several matches in the cricketing world being played across six days with Sunday usually being an off day.
Bangladesh also has been part of a similar six-day Test during their series against Sri Lanka in December 2008 when they had a rest day due to parliamentary elections.
Currently, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are ranked third and fourth respectively in the World Test Championship standings.
