-By LeN Sportsman
(Lanka-e-News -29.May.2025, 11.00 PM) While Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and former Test captain Sanath Jayasuriya made headlines this past week with their visit to Jaffna—scouting locations for a brand-new international cricket stadium with hopes of Indian financial support—a quiet but striking plea has emerged from the East: Before laying new turf in the North, take a slight detour eastward. You may be shocked by what you find.
For nestled just 7 or 8 kilometres beyond the bustling town of Batticaloa lies a gleaming, fully-fledged international-standard cricket ground in a place called Kodamunai—almost entirely forgotten by the system but built out of pure passion and personal sacrifice.
This is not a ghost of a project, nor an empty pitch gathering dust. It is a living, breathing cricketing facility, privately funded to the tune of Rs. 800 million by a Batticaloa-born businessman now residing in the UK and an alumnus of the prestigious St. Michael’s College. The pitch has already hosted a tour match for a visiting side and is match-fit for more.
The grounds are said to be more lush than the grass of Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium, and the outfield is a thing of envy. From the pitch’s firmness to the manicured turf and coastal views, this venue has more than a passing resemblance to the iconic Galle International Cricket Stadium. There’s no exaggeration here—this is cricket’s equivalent of a Rolls Royce parked under a tarpaulin in a village barn.
Constructed under the careful stewardship of the late Bandula Warnapura, Sri Lanka’s first Test captain, the venue was in its final phase when he passed away. It was eventually inaugurated in a ceremonial match featuring none other than Arjuna Ranatunga and a host of Sri Lankan greats.
Beyond its stunning main square, the facility boasts six turf practice wickets, a fully-equipped gym, and even an electronic scoreboard. Teams from Colombo and international outfits have played here. Even first-division inter-club matches have been staged on this ground.
And yet, in a tragic twist of administrative politics, this international-grade ground has been blacklisted by Sri Lanka Cricket. The reason? A petty, personal feud between the President and Secretary of the Batticaloa Cricket Association and the private owners. As a result, the ground has been swept under the rug—rendered invisible on the official cricketing map.
This isn’t just mismanagement. It borders on criminal neglect.
What greater travesty could there be? Instead of embracing and integrating an existing Rs. 800 million gift to the nation, cricketing authorities are now contemplating billion-rupee investments to build afresh elsewhere. That too, while ignoring a perfectly functional and visually stunning facility gifted to the Eastern Province, which otherwise has no comparable infrastructure.
The question practically screams: Why build anew when you can nurture what’s already here? The answer, sadly, lies buried under layers of ego, turf wars, and small-town politicking.
One can only hope that when Minister Gamage next laces his boots for a fact-finding mission, he takes the eastern route. What awaits is not just a stadium, but a case study in how Sri Lankan cricket loses more to mismanagement than to poor batting.
In a country often criticised for failing to decentralise its sporting infrastructure, the Kodamunai Stadium is a rare glimmer of what’s possible when passion meets purpose. Ignoring it would not just be unwise—it would be a scandal.
-By LeN Sportsman
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by (2025-05-29 18:10:04)
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