The snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background
Earlier the BCCI and state government had the plan to make International Stadium in Shimla. The location in Shimla proposed for this was Annadale. But despite every try the Army did not accept this, because Annadale is an Army Cantonment area and it's ground serves as important strategic location for Army as well as for the ARTRAC Shimla. After the failure of this plan then it was shifted to Dharamshala, and then HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala was finally chosen.[5]
The picturesque venue is unique in India as it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m above sea level and has snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background. Getting to Dharamsala from the nearby Kangra Airport, which is about 8 kilometres away through the hilly terrain and the harsh winters, during which it rains and snows, is a deterrent to organizing regular matches.[citation needed]
Dav Whatmore, the former Director of the National Cricket Academy in India had recommended during his tenure that the stadium is suitable for hosting international cricket matches. The first international team who played at this ground was the Pakistani cricket team, when they played a warm-up match against India A in 2005.[6]
The first One Day International (ODI) at this stadium was played between India and England on 27 January 2013. England won the match by 7 wickets. The first Test at this stadium was played between India- Australia on 25–29 March 2017, India won the match.[7]
The venue has been used sporadically for IPL matches and due to its high altitude has a reputation for six hitting. Adam Gilchrist became the first player to score a century in the IPL at the HPCA stadium in 2011 against RCB, an innings that included a 122m six off Charl Langeveldt.[9]
On 21 July 2015, the BCCI announced the names of the eight cities which would be hosting matches during the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. Dharamshala was announced as one of the eight venues for the event.[11] On 11 December 2015, ICC announced the fixtures of the event where the HPCA Stadium was scheduled to host all the first round Group A matches and a single Super 10 Group 2 match.[12] Originally the marquee India v Pakistan match was scheduled to be hosted by this venue.[13] Due to security concerns for the Pakistani team,[14] the match was moved to Eden Gardens, Kolkata.[15]
2023 ICC World Cup
ICC allocated 5 matches to the stadium, including New Zealand v India.[3] However the Stadium was accused of bad outfield and players played with potential risk of being injured.[4]
