Sri Lanka Cricket is currently working to upgrade the floodlights system at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, despite the venue not hosting more than 3-4 Day and Night ODIs a year.The tender in this regard has been awarded to DIMO, which has already commenced work.

It is said that the project could cost around Rs. 150 million.Dambulla had hosted day-night ODIs until 2010, but players had been critical about the lights’ lack of intensity, which affected batsmen in particular. The venue’s floodlights were later ruled to be inadequate for international cricket, as they produced substantially less than the 2500 lux of light required as a minimum by the ICC.The venue has hosted just 55 D/N ODIs since it was established in 2001.

The lights project is underway while two other projects planned by a previous SLC interim committee has been halted.It had been planned to build an indoor gymnasium and swimming pool at the R. Premadasa stadium for the training of the national players but plans had been halted midway even despite the laying of a foundation to do so.

‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ learns that players have expressed their displeasure over prioritizing the floodlights of a stadium which only hosts a handful of games, over the gym and pool which are two basic requirements for the players’ training.Earlier, it was alleged that DIMO had secured a contract to replace non-working lights at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Khettarama, Colombo but had even replaced lights that had been working with no issue.