Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium

Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, abbreviated as the HPCA Stadium, is a picturesque cricket stadium located in the city of Dharamsala District Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, India. The town of Dharamsala is best known internationally as the home of the Dalai Lama of Tibet. As of 19 Aug, 2017 it has hosted 1 Test, 3 ODIs and 8 T20Is.Location and historyThe stadium served as the home ground for the Himachal Pradesh cricket team for Ranji Trophy matches and other domestic matches. The stadium also hosted some IPL matches as a home stadium for Kings XI Punjab.The picturesque venue is unique in India as it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m above the sea level and has the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background. Getting to Dharamsala from the nearest airport Is Kangra Airport, which is about 8 kilometres away through the hilly terrain and the harsh winters, during which it rains and snows are some of the deterrents in organizing regular matches.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 in this ground was the Pakistani cricket team, when they played a warm-up match against an India A side in 2005.