IPL 2016: Kings XI Punjab unwilling to play matches in Dharamsala, says HPCA

Dharamsala: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) on Friday said Kings XI Punjab are not willing to play in Dharamsala as they have not received any positive response from the state government. HPCA public relations officer Sanjay Sharma said that after waiting for HP government’s reply for the last nine days, Kings XI Punjab wrote a letter yesterday to Rajeev Shukla and said they want their three matches to be played in Mohali now and not Dharamsala. [caption id=“attachment_2659824” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Dharamsala stadium. File photo. Getty images[/caption] Sharma said, “The government did not give any security assurance in 2014, as a result the matches went to Cuttack. Kings XI made Cuttack their home ground. And in 2015 they had to choose Pune as their home ground. Now when Pune has its own team, Kings XI faced problem with the ground and had opted for Nagpur as their second ground. Due to water scarcity, matches were shifted outside Maharashtra and they approached us. “They wanted Dharamsala to be their venue for the next three matches. On behalf of HPCA, we wrote a letter to the CM of Himachal on April 21, asking for his written consent. But no reply came from the government till date.” Sharma further said, “Yesterday Kings XI Punjab team owners called up Rajeev Shukla that they want their three matches to play in Mohali and not Dharamshala.”