Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium

Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium
Picturesque backdrop of the HPCA Stadium
Ground information
Location Dharamshala Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Establishment 2003
Capacity 23,000[1]
Owner Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association
Operator Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association
Tenants Indian cricket team
Himachal Pradesh cricket team
Kings XI Punjab
End names
River End
College End
International information
Only Test 25–29 March 2017:
 India v  Australia
First ODI 27 January 2013:
 India v  England
Last ODI 10 December 2017:
 India v  Sri Lanka
First T20I 2 October 2015:
 India v  South Africa
Last T20I 18 March 2016:
 Australia v  New Zealand
As of 25 March 2017
Source: ESPN Cricinfo

Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, (Hindi: हिमाचल प्रदेश क्रिकेट एसोसिएशन स्टेडियम) abbreviated as the HPCA Stadium, is a picturesque cricket stadium located in the city of Dharamshala District Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, India. The town of Dharamsala is best known internationally as the home of the Dalai Lama of Tibet.

The stadium has hosted 1 Test, 3 ODIs and 8 T20Is to date.

Location and history

The stadium served as the home ground for the Himachal Pradesh cricket team for Ranji Trophy matches and other domestic matches. The stadium also hosted some IPL matches as a home stadium for Kings XI Punjab.[2]

The picturesque venue is unique in India as it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m above the sea level and has the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background. Getting to Dharamsala from the nearest airport Is Kangra Airport, which is about 8 kilometres away through the hilly terrain and the harsh winters, during which it rains and snows are some of the deterrents in organizing regular matches.

Dav Whatmore, the former Director of the National Cricket Academy in India had recommended during his tenure that the stadium is suitable for hosting international cricket matches. The first international team who played in this ground was the Pakistani cricket team, when they played a warm-up match against an India A side in 2005.[2]

The first One Day International (ODI) at this stadium was played between India and England on 27 January 2013. England won the match by 7 wickets. The first Test at this stadium was played between India and Australia from 25–29 March 2017.[3]

Panorama of the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala

In November 2015, the HPCA stadium was selected as one of the six new Test match venues in India along with the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, JSCA International Stadium Complex, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Holkar Stadium and Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.[4]

ACC Centre of Excellence

In December 2015, Asian Cricket Council decided to set up Centre of Excellence at Dharamshala.[5]

2016 ICC World Twenty20

On 21 July 2015, the BCCI announced the names of the eight cities which would be hosting matches during the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. Dharamshala was announced as one of the eight venues for the event.[6] On 11 December 2015, ICC announced the fixtures of the event where the HPCA Stadium was scheduled to host all the first round Group A matches and a single Super 10 Group 2 match.[7] Originally the marquee India vs Pakistan match was scheduled to be hosted by this venue.[8] Due to security concerns for the Pakistani team,[9] the match was moved to Eden Gardens, Kolkata.[10], since the then chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh denied to take responsibility for Players of Pakistan cricket team, siting growing anger amongst Indian people against Pakistan.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium | India | Cricket Grounds". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Dharamshala to be ready for IPL by April". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Dharamsala decider promises more surprises". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  4. ↑ Arun Venugopal. "BCCI revamps selection committee, announces new Test centres". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "ACC sets up Centre of Excellence in Dharamsala". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Eden Gardens to host 2016 World T20 final". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Fixtures for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016". ICC Cricket. Archived from the original on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Dharamsala to host World T20 India-Pakistan". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  9. ↑ Gollapudi, Nagraj (1 March 2016). "Political tussle clouds India-Pakistan World T20 match". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "India-Pakistan game moved to Kolkata". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2016.

Coordinates: 32°11′52″N 76°19′34″E / 32.197672°N 76.325997°E / 32.197672; 76.325997

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