Jaffna International Cricket Stadium: Another white elephant?

FOR a decade, fortunes of the national cricket team have been in doldrums.

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Yet, the Shammi Silva-led administration — which has been controlling the governing body of the most popular sport of the island since 2019 — instead of undertaking a systematic and comprehensive initiative to improve the performance of players, is spending money on activities that spell further doom for the game which is followed with tremendous passion throughout the country.

Last week, President Anura Kumara Disanayake laid the foundation stone of Jaffna International Cricket Stadium with much fanfare. On the surface, building an international cricket stadium in an area which was ravaged by the war conveys an appealing and romantic narrative. But often such fanciful moves are undermined due to lack of financial and operational viability.

According to media reports, the project is said to be solely funded by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). When the Indian Premier Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka last April, coach of the national cricket team Sanath Jayasuriya requested financial assistance from the Government of India to construct the stadium in Jaffna. Nevertheless, it seems that Jayasuriya’s request had not been taken seriously by Modi.