Colombo, which hosted IND-PAK match, becomes cricket’s heartbeat:Only city with two venues in tournament

Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, is not just a city these days, but has become the heartbeat of cricket. The T20 World Cup has returned to it the noise, the passion, which the people here feared losing for years. Colombo may not be large in size, but it is the only city in the current World Cup to host two different World Cup venues. There’s World Cup talk at bus stops, waiters in restaurants can’t take their eyes off the matches, cricket quizzes are running in pubs, and fake jerseys are selling fast on pavements. WhatsApp groups are filled with cricket messages. Somewhere, friends are asking, ‘Should we go even to the small matches?’ Someone is praising a catch with surprise, while someone else is making light-hearted comments on the players’ style. Colombo has an atmosphere like the 2011 World Cup. The decline in the performance of Sri Lanka’s men’s team over the last decade had affected the country’s love for cricket. The passion seemed to be fading. But this World Cup has, as it were, given an injection of excitement. The temperament of both cities is completely different Colombo’s two World Cup venues are only five kilometers apart, but their temperament is completely different. The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) is located in ‘Cinnamon Gardens’ in Colombo-7. This is the country’s most expensive and posh area, with wide roads lined with huge trees and colonial-era buildings. New floodlights have made it even more modern. The stands were completely full during the Pakistan vs. USA match here. Its centralized location could make it Sri Lanka’s first day-night Test venue. In contrast, the R. Premadasa Stadium (Khettarama) is located in a relatively ordinary and densely populated area of the city. The streets here are narrow. A crowd of shops and temporary structures abuts the outer walls of the stadium. Nearby are also low-cost residential apartments, where former slum dwellers have been resettled. But this very ground most closely reflects the soul of Sri Lankan cricket. When the tunes of the ‘Papare’ band echo in the stands here, when the crowd roars at every four and six, when children laugh at the magical deliveries of spin bowlers – that’s when Sri Lankan cricket appears in its most vibrant form. This atmosphere is like an intoxication, difficult to match. Colombo city still holds its place among the world’s great cricket cities Colombo’s cricket heritage is so rich that another one of its historic grounds, P. Sara Oval, is not even being used in this World Cup. This is the same ground where the great Don Bradman and his ‘Invincibles’ team played. Sri Lanka’s first Test was held here. Thus, if the T20 World Cup 2026 has proven anything, it is that Sri Lanka’s city of Colombo still holds its place among the world’s great cricket cities – with full splendor and buzz.