In a bid to develop the game in the lesser exposed regions of the country, Sri Lanka Cricket has allocated funds to build new cricket stadiums in the Northern and North-Central Provinces of the country.
According to SLC secretary Mohan De Silva, a sum of approximately 200 million rupees has been set aside for the construction of the stadiums in Jaffna and Polonnaruwa. With the executive committee of SLC having given the go ahead for the two projects, the construction is set to begin very soon.
President of Sri Lanka Cricket Thilanga Sumathipala has mentioned that all plans for the stadium in Polonnaruwa have been finalized but a location for the project in Jaffna is yet to be decided upon, with the board looking at Kalviyankadu, Chundukuli and also in Koyyathoddam as possible sites for the stadium. Sources indicate that the stadiums are set to be part of a much larger sports complex that is to be constructed in the North and North-Central provinces.
Sri Lanka Cricket indicates that the plan is to use the two new venues for 1st class cricket in order to enhance the quality of cricket played in the North and the East before moving towards hosting International games there.
This is the latest bid in the Thilanga Sumathipala led board’s drive towards bringing the sport to greater heights with plans for the establishment of a “Brain Center” in the Island, which will be equipped with the most cutting edge technology available in analytics and the refurbishment of SSC being put into place months ago.
