Sri Lanka Cricket to build international stadium in Jaffna

Colombo: Sri Lanka Cricket is set to build an international cricket stadium in former LTTE hub, Jaffna and has already carried out a preliminary inspection of a site, SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said.

Sumathipala visited the Mandaithivu area in the Kayts islet of Jaffna district to inspect a 50-acre plot for the purpose.

All international venues in Sri Lanka are either in the Western, Southern or Central regions.

Jaffna, the northern capital and the cultural capital of the Tamil minority, has a long history of cricket but with over three decades old separatist violence since the mid-70s, the area had not seen any cricket infrastructure development.

Only a handful of Tamils have represented the island. The most prominent ones are the world's highest Test wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan, who is of Indian origin and cricketer-turned-commentator Russell Arnold.