Gammanpila apologizes over careless attribution to ICC

Former Parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila apologized for his statement that Sri Lanka's biggest Cricket ground is funded by the International Cricket Council and said the statement was based on the information given by Minister Bandula Gunawardena. Former parliamentarian Gammanpila on Tuesday said that the ICC has allocated 30 million USD to Sri Lanka to construct an international cricket stadium and the Sri Lanka cricket received the funds to construct an international stadium in order to develop the standard of the sport in the country. "I unconditionally apologize for stating that the proposed cricket ground would be financed by a grant from @ICC having relied on the information given by Minister Bandula Gunawardena," Gammanpila said in a tweet. The cash-strapped Sri Lankan Government and Sri Lanka Cricket came under strong criticism after plans to develop the country’s biggest cricket stadium in the City of Homagama in the Colombo District were revealed recently. Minister Gunawardena and the local cricketing body said that the country’s largest cricket stadium will be constructed in a 26-acre state land in Diyagama, Homagama with a capacity of 60,000 at an estimated cost of US$ 40 million. Meanwhile, a spokesperson at the ICC told News1st on Tuesday that the ICC did not sanction any loan for the construction of a cricket stadium in Sri Lanka and said that there was no formal agreement or discussion on the matter.