One of the highly admired legends in the Sri Lankan cricket and the national coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team Sanath Jayasuriya had proved that cricket is a gentleman’s game when he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his former team mates in Colombo and requested the Indian leader to help build an International cricket stadium in Jaffna. As far as cricket is concerned Britain would have introduced the game in the countries it had colonized. However the game is considered to be another religion in the Asian countries particularly in India. India has one of the biggest cricket stadiums in the world located in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat in Western India. The mega Gujarat stadium is named after in honor of the India Prime Minister Narendra Modi as The Narendra Modi Stadium and the international cricket stadium is located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Narendra Modi stadium has the capacity of 132,000 (total), 114,600 (seated).The stadium, owned by the

Gujarat Cricket Association, hosts both domestic and international cricket matches. India has state of the art cricket stadiums in almost every state and Eden Garden stadium in Kolkata is another admirable cricket stadium in West Bengal. Eden Garden stadium has the capacity of accommodating 68,000 spectators and the stadium is managed by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). There are five largest cricket stadiums in the world. The Narendra Modi cricket stadium in Ahmadabad in Gujarat remains the foremost of all cricket stadiums in the world. Melbourne cricket ground in Australia remains the second biggest stadium followed by Eden Garden, in Kolkata, West Bengal, Adelaide Oval in Australia is in the fourth place with Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Hyderabad, India in the fifth place. So India has three mega cricket stadiums in the world with each stadium accommodating more than fifty
thousand spectators. Cricket being the premier sport in India, the cricket spectators in India while supporting the cricketers of their country, they also have great admiration and appreciation for the good cricketers from other countries.

One of the cricketers admired very much by the Indian cricket lovers is former Lankan captain and national coach Sanath Jayasuriya. It was when Sanath Jayasuriya in the limelight, he had to intervene and calm down the spectators at Eden Garden during a match between Sri Lanka and India. The Indian team playing against the Lankan team was failing badly in that encounter. The cricket crazy Indian spectators at Eden Garden were highly disturbed over the performance
of the Indian team. It was at this juncture at Eden Garden Sanath Jayasuriya had intervened and pleaded with the spectators to remain calm and they respected the plea made by Sanath Jayasuriya and remained calm until the match was over. Therefore the intervention of Sanath Jayasuriya had highlighted the respect and the admiration the Indian spectators had for Lankan cricketers. Sanath Jayasuriya was also once elected as a Member of Parliament in Sri Lanka with the popular support from his people from his Constituency in Matara. It was great to admire the Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi allocating his time to meet the Lankan cricketers despite his busy schedule in Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief interaction with former Lankan cricketers had outlined that the Prime Minister was from an Indian State which has the biggest cricket stadium in the world and his love for the game. National coach of Lankan cricket and former captain of the Lankan team Sanath Jayasuriya very rightly reading the mind frame of the Indian Prime Minister with regard to cricket had made a request to him to create a cricket stadium in Jaffna. Jayasuriya, along with other members of the 1996 World Cup winning Sri Lankan team met the Indian Prime Minister and the conversation that had taken place between the Indian leader and Sanath Jayasuriya as follows:   “When we had unrest, problems in Sri Lanka, you and the government helped us a lot. We are always grateful to you for helping Sri Lanka. As the coach of Sri Lanka, at the moment we play all over Sri Lanka except Jaffna. If India can help us to build an international cricket ground in Jaffna, there will be a big help for the people in Jaffna North and Eastern parts…I have a small request, if this can be done?” Sanath Jayasuriya said.
PM Modi replied: “I am pleased to hear such words from Jayasuriya. India has always maintained a ‘Neighbourhood First’ approach. It is India’s responsibility to help our neighbors. When the economic crisis occurred, we wanted Sri Lanka to come out of it. Today, I announced several projects here. I am happy that you are worried about Jaffna,” Narendra Modi responded. “It will send a strong message that a cricket leader wants international matches to be held in Jaffna. I assure you that my team will take a note and see what can be done,” PM Modi further said.
The team members of the Lankan World Cup winning team in 1996 in Pakistan accompanied Sanath Jayasuriya at the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as follows: Kumar Dharmasena, Aravinda de Silva, Chaminda Vaas, Upul Chandana and Marvan Atapattu. The world cup winning Lankan team members also presented Modi with a memento in appreciation of their meeting with him. It is important to mention that so far not a single Parliamentarian from the North and East has requested for an International level cricket stadium in Jaffna. Even the so called Jaffna professionals didn’t even thought about a cricket stadium in Jaffna. Whereas cricket is a popular
sport at the Jaffna schools and due to lack of proper encouragement the cricketers from Jaffna school didn’t reach the national level.
On the other hand it was the men from Jaffna in Colombo played a great role in enhancing the English game in the country. Saravanamuttu stadium will speak volumes as one of the finest stadiums in the Island. Sir . R. Saravanamuttu during his younger days played against Australian veteran Sir Donald Bradman and the legend from West Indies Sir Frank Worrel when the Australian and West Indies teams visited Sri Lanka in the very old cricketing days. Being the first Mayor of Colombo, Sir R. Saravanamuttun of Jaffna origin built the first cricket stadium in Sri Lanka.

As far as the Lankan cricketers of Jaffna origin are concerned late cricketer M. Sathasivam is still remembered as a foremost legend of the game in the country. It is even right time to mention that when the A-9 high way was cleared soon after the civil war ended the Lankan cricketers Mahela Jayawardena and his colleagues initiated a peace march from the Southern tip of the country Devundara to the Northern tip of Jaffna Peninsula in Point Pedro for the rousing welcome from the Jaffna cricket lovers. Several of Jaffna cricket fans even embraced and hugged the Lankan cricketers when they reached the final destination of their walk in Point Pedro.
So if legendary Sanath Jayasuriya’s request to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi becomes a reality, the intended International Cricket stadium in Jaffna should be named as Sanath Jayasuriya stadium.

By Ananth Palakidnar – 7.4.2025