Shifting of May 11 IPL match huge loss for tourism in Dharamsala

The shifting of the match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians to Ahmedabad from the HPCA Stadium here was the talk of the town today. The IPL match, scheduled for May 11 in Dharamsala, has been shifted mainly owing to the closure of the airport in the wake of the Indian Army’s action against terror infrastructure in Pakistan, claimed various reports.

An official confirmation about the shifting of the match was made by the IPL governing body late in the evening. Earlier, sources in the broadcasting fraternity claimed that they had been asked to derail the equipment after the completion of the Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals match.

Meanwhile, the news of change in venue (for the Mumbai Indians match) spread like a wild fire across the town. The local tourism fraternity was relying heavily on this match to recover as it was suffering due to low footfall of tourists here. “It’s sad if these reports of match shifting are true. We were expecting good business during this match. A majority of the people, who were planning to travel for this match, have already cancelled their bookings,” said Prashant Chadha, who operates hotels here.

While reports suggested a change in venue, tickets were still sold on the IPL website for the match maintaining Dharamsala as the venue.

“There’s a lot of confusion regarding the same. the shifting of the match will cause huge losses to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) and for spectators as well along with the local industry,” added Pushpinder, another hotelier.

Amid the closure of nearby airports at Chandigarh and Gaggal, which is said to be one of the main reasons behind the shifting of the venue, it remains to be seen how both Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals are shifted from Dharamsala. As both airports are closed, teams need to find a way to reach Delhi, possibly by road. Like Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals are also scheduled to play against Gujarat Titans in New Delhi on May 11.

The May 11 match witnessed an overwhelming response from fans, as

tickets were in high demand despite being over-priced compared to other two matches.