Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Cricket stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium is a cricket ground on the outskirts of Kandy, Sri Lanka, set within a hilly landscape. It has covered stands arranged around the pitch, floodlights for evening play, and meets the requirements for hosting international fixtures.

Built at a cost of $3.93 million as one of three Sri Lankan venues for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the stadium opened on 27 November 2009. It became the 104th ground to host Test cricket in December 2010, when Sri Lanka played the West Indies. In July 2010 the Central Provincial Council proposed renaming it after Muttiah Muralitharan, but the change was never made official.

Cricket is deeply woven into everyday life in Kandy, and this stadium is where that connection becomes most visible. On match days, fans arrive from across the country, wearing team colors and filling the stands with a shared energy that no other sport on the island quite matches.

The stadium is outside Kandy's city center and can be reached by bus or tuk-tuk. On match days, it is worth setting off early because roads in the area can become very busy as the start time approaches.

The ground is one of very few international cricket venues entirely surrounded by forested hills, which gives the view from the stands a feel quite different from urban arenas. This setting also means that light and cloud conditions can shift noticeably during a day's play, affecting how players and spectators experience the match.