Kumar Sangakkara (BCCI Photo) JAIPUR: Rajasthan Royals’ home ground, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, came under the limelight during their encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad due to some uncharacteristic dropped catches on the field. The matter sparked widespread debate, with players and pundits pointing to the stadium’s newly installed floodlights as a likely factor. Just before the start of the 2026 season, new LED floodlights were installed at the venue. While offering significantly higher brightness and better overall visibility, players faced initial difficulties adjusting to stronger glare and changed lighting conditions.
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Why Suryakumar Yadav Will Lose India T20I Captaincy: Everything You Need To KnowRoyals head coach Kumar Sangakkara acknowledged the adaptation period for the fielders. “I think they’ve done a great job of redesigning the floodlights. They’re LED lights, and then you know, they’re quite different from what we’re used to in other areas. They’re much brighter and give more visibility. So we’ve been trying to find out what’s the right setting so that the fielders feel comfortable and don’t lose the ball in the glare of the lights,” Sangakkara said.“So we talked to the ground authorities and they tried to lower or extend or change the direction of the lights. And in the second game it was fine. It’s never easy when the lights are in the glare, but I think they did a great job of being able to adjust that as well, so it’s great for modern technology to have such good lighting,” he added.SMS Stadium now has a maximum lux level of 3500, a significant upgrade from the lowest level in the league until last year.
