Dharamsala to host three IPL matches in May

Three IPL cricket matches will be played in Dharamsala in May this year. As per the schedule of the IPL released recently, the first cricket match to be played here will be between Punjab Kings XI and Lucknow Super Giants on May 4. On May 8, Punjab Kings XI and Delhi Capitals will clash at the international cricket stadium and on May 11, the match will be played between Punjab Kings XI and Mumbai Indians.

The hotel associations of Dharamsala have welcomed the decision of the IPL management committee to hold three matches here. Ashwani Bamba, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Kangra, said the matches being held in Dharamsala would give a flip to tourism in the region. Two scheduled matches in Dharamsala were scheduled on Sundays. These matches would boost tourism on weekend in the region. More matches should be held here, he added.

Last year also, the Dharamsala international cricket stadium had hosted two IPL matches in May. Dharamsala being a tourist destination, it attracts scores of cricket fans for IPL matches. Generally, the stadium during the IPL matches being held in Dharamsala is jam-packed with spectators and tickets are sold out in advance.

Successive state governments had talked of promoting sports tourism in Dharamsala but it has remained limited to cricket matches held at the stadium. Many sports projects proposed in Dharamsala have not come up.

Anurag Thakur as Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs had proposed a high-altitude training centre in Dharamsala. He had asked the state government to provide land for the project. However, the project never materialised as the state government could not find a suitable land in and around Dharamsala.

During the stint of the previous BJP government, the Sania Nehwal badminton academy was proposed in the Sakoh area of Dharamsala. Sources say that the proposed academy could not come up as government officials and academy officials could not reach mutually acceptable terms.

The present government has now proposed to bring up an ice staking rink on the land that was earlier proposed for the badminton academy.

During the previous BJP government, a proposal was mooted for bringing up a shooting academy in Dharamsala, which again did not come up. Besides the international cricket stadium, Dharamsala has a synthetic athletics track that the Sports Authority of India is managing. Many Indian athletes come here for high-altitude training.