With the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala all set to host 10 World T20 matches next year, a HPCA official said on Saturday that it is a proud moment for the state.
"It's a moment of pride and honour that our small state and the HPCA have been allotted eight men's matches and two women's in the upcoming T20 World Cup making Dharamsala one of the biggest and most sought after venues in India," HPCA press secretary Mohit Sood said.
He said the matches would be lined up from March 9 to 24.
He said matches between India and Pakistan have also offered opportunities for cricket diplomacy as a means to improve relations between the two countries by allowing heads of state to exchange visits and cricket fans to watch some high quality action.
"We are expecting a lot of activity — diplomatically and otherwise — evolved around the matches," he said.
HPCA officials, headed by BJP MP Anurag Thakur said the stadium's popularity soared with the hosting of nine Indian Premier league (IPl) matches, two India-England and India-West Indies ODIs and one Twenty20 match between South Africa and India.
As many as 5000 more seats
dharamsala: Dharamsala has been allotted 10 World T20 matches and considering that the organisers have decided to raise the seating capacity of the stadium by 25 percent.
"5000 more seats shall be added to the present 20,000," HPCA spokesperson Sanjay Sharma said.
Trophy to go global on sunday
Mumbai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 India 2016 trophy will go on a global journey from here on Sunday, before returning to New Delhi on February 1.
The trophy will pass through 12 countries taking part in the tournament which will be staged in India from March 11 to April 3 next year, the ICC said in a release.
"The ICC World Twenty20 2016 trophy tour has been designed to not only promote the tournament but also to engage with our fans and provide them the first opportunity to get close to the trophy, which will be lifted by the winning captain on April 3 in Kolkata," ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said.