Huge disappointment for the cricket lovers of team Kings XI Punjab as no match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 has been allotted to Dharamsala, going by the recently released schedule.
The 10th season of the IPL will kickstart on April 5 in Hyderabad and the final match will be on May 21. A total of 60 matches will be played in 47 days at various locations.
This is the fourth consecutive year that no game of IPL has come here, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) officials said. “The Congress government has always acted as the roadblock playing politics which has given a bad impression to the franchisees and therefore no match is there in this hill town,” said Sanjay Sharma, HPCA spokesperson.
Well now, fans are eyeing on qualifier matches as the venues are yet to be decided for this. “Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) has played four seasons here as their home ground. But, now they too have opted Indore,” he added.
He also said that matches are not being played here since 2014. “It is not with the KXIP that they don’t want to come but none of the franchise want to come here as the government is acting as a rival against the HPCA.”
Well, Kings XI Punjab franchise have appointed former India opener Virender Sehwag, who is currently the mentor of the team as team’s head of Cricket Operations and Strategy for the upcoming IPL season.
