The historic Sinhalese Sports Club steps into the floodlights ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

Step onto the field of the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC), and you can feel the history in the air. For more than 100 years, this ground has been at the center of Sri Lankan cricket. It is where Muthiah Muralidaran spun the ball like magic, taking 166 of his 800 Test wickets – a record at a single ground. It is also where Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara built a 624-run partnership, and where Chaminda Vaas destroyed Zimbabwe with 8 wickets for 19 runs.

Even with all its fame as the 'Lord’s of Sri Lanka,' the SSC could not keep up with the modern game. For many years, it stayed a place for traditional cricket – white clothes and long afternoon shadows. It has given more players and captains to the national team than any other ground. But while the world moved to floodlit T20 cricket, the SSC stayed a daytime ground.

The last limited-overs international played there was a women’s T20I in 2023, and the last men’s white-ball game was an ODI in 2020. Its T20I history is mostly frozen, remembered for the matches between Canada, Ireland, and Afghanistan in the afternoon heat of 2010.

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SSC’s Long Wait for Lights Comes to an End

This Saturday, the sun will still be high over Colombo, and the 16-year wait is finally over. The T20 World Cup curtain-raiser between Pakistan and the Netherlands will echo across the ground, with six tall LED floodlights standing over the field. These lights, costing LKR 1.8 billion, mark the club’s arrival into the modern game. The journey to this day, however, has been long.

"My God, for the last two decades," said SSC cricket committee chairman Samantha Dodanwela, showing the relief of a man who has finally reached the goal.

A Modern Look Without Losing Tradition

Since 2009, the dream of floodlights faced challenges – private club rules, disputes, and hesitation from members. With the support of Sri Lanka Cricket and a skilled legal team, the club modernised without losing its character.

The SSC now feels both friendly and international. With a capacity of 12,000, it offers a ‘boutique’ World Cup experience. Plans for a 6,000-seat three-tier stand are also moving forward.

"This venue is in the heart of the city," Dodanwela said, looking at Colombo around the club. "Members will visit in the evenings; the crowd will always be here."

For Dodanwela, who joined the club in 1990 and led its Cricket Committee from 2011, the lights mean relevance. While the SSC has a rich history in Test cricket, he knows the future is T20.

"The SSC pitch is the best in Sri Lanka. Good bowlers get early wickets. But if you survive, there are many runs. In T20, we need runs."

As Oman faces Zimbabwe on February 9 at 3pm, and Pakistan plays the USA under lights the next night, the SSC’s full transition will be complete.

The club may treasure its Test cricket past, but its future now begins under the glow of floodlights in the heart of Colombo.