World Cup winning former cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga has opposed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announcement of building an international stadium in Homagama at an approximate cost of US$ 40 million, stating that more cricket grounds makes no sense.
“We have so many international cricket grounds in the country. If we calculates, Sri Lanka team, in a year, plays approximately 65 days of International cricket in all three formats as home matches. For that, we already have more than enough cricket stadiums” Ranatunga told Cricket Age.
One of the most iconic captain in cricket history, Ranatunga is himself a proud product of school cricket. Thus, he opines that the SLC must focus on developing cricket at schools, instead of going for International stadiums.
“We need to do more to develop cricket at schools. Develop cricket grounds at school and provide them with sufficient cricket equipment. Even in Colombo we have so many schools that play matches with just three bats. The situation is far worse in outstations. The next Muralitharan and Jayasuriya are out there somewhere and we should be supporting these talents” Ranatunga added.
At the same time, he also questioned the timing of the announcement of the proposed Homagama International stadium.
“The timing of the announcement is deplorable as well. Lot of families have been hit hard due to the outbreak of COVID 19 epidemic. Daily wage earners are severely affected. These are our fans who love our game. You go out on the streets and you find hunger everywhere. I sincerely hope President Gotabaya Rajapaksa puts an end to this nonsense” the legendary captain concluded.
On May 17, the Government announced that Sri Lanka’s biggest cricket stadium to be constructed in Homagama. Cabinet co-spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena, Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development Priyath Bandu Wickrama visited the proposed land allocated to build the land along with Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva.
The announcement was widely criticized, not only by the cricket fans, but also by the legendary former Sri Lanka Captain Mahela Jayawardene, who questioned the decision to construct another international cricket stadium in the country.
In response, the SLC yesterday made it clear through a media statement that the project is 100% funded by board with long term loans. The SLC has further clarified that Only the land is given but no funds will be allocated by the Government.
“This project will be an absolute and private investment of Sri Lanka Cricket and no government funds will be utilized and/or will be sought at any stage of the construction.” The SLC said in a statement.
“Constructing an international cricket stadium at Homagama will benefit everyone immensely, as the area is one of the most prominent hub of school cricket. Also, players of clubs like Ragama Cricket Club, Kalutara town club, which don’t have their own grounds, can utilize the proposed stadium. In addition, it is nearby to highway, that make it a sensible option” a top SLC official told Cricket Age, defending board decision.
