Colombo, Apr 23 (PTI) Sri Lanka’s sports minister Sunil Gamage has revealed that national coach and batting great Sanath Jayasuriya has requested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for assistance to build a cricket venue in Jaffna and he is hopeful that the neighbouring country would respond positively to it.

Gamage made this statement while addressing a ceremony held here on Tuesday night to inaugurate a new swimming complex at the Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters in Premadasa Stadium.

“We are keen to let the northern youth develop their cricket. Mr Sanath Jayasuriya, the national coach, requested Prime Minister Modi to help build it. When someone like Mr Jayasuriya makes a request, India won’t ignore it,” Gamage said.

Jayasuriya made this request to Modi when the Indian leader met members of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning team while visiting the country early this month.

During this meeting Jayasuriya had also thanked India for its assistance in dealing with a financial crisis in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s northern province, of which Jaffna is the capital, was ravaged by decades of an armed conflict to create a Tamil state comprising both north and east provinces. The civil war ended in 2009 after Sri Lankan military defeated the insurgent Tamil Tigers group. PTI Cor PM PM PM