MUMBAI: The sleepy hill station of Dharamsala will host arch-rivals India and Pakistan at next year's cricket World Twenty20, while the final will be staged at the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India, organisers said Friday.
The two teams will meet in the group stages on March 19 in remote Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills whose stadium houses just 23,000 fans, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in Mumbai.
“The ICC and BCCI are fully committed and will work together to make this a memorable event,” said ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, who also heads the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
India versus Pakistan is set to be one of the most anticipated clashes of the tournament but fans could find tickets hard to come by, with organisers overlooking larger stadiums in favour of Dharamsala, home to the Dalai Lama.
Located 1,162 metres (3,800 feet) above sea level, the pitch is lower than several South African international grounds and tends to have more grass than normal in India.
Interest in the Dalai Lama and Buddhist teachings have attracted foreigners to Dharamsala for decades, and its budget backpacker hostels and guesthouses are expected to be sold out when Pakistan and India play.
Eden Gardens, in comparison, can accommodate more than 60,000 spectators, while Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, which is likely to have been ruled out because of security reasons for Pakistan, has a capacity of around 35,000.
“We, as hosts, are fully prepared to organise one of the most entertaining spectacles in world cricket,” said BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, who is also president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association which runs the Dharamsala stadium.
“Looking at the heat generated during the discussion on whether the series will be held between India and Pakistan... it needed cooler weather and Dharamsala gives the right atmosphere,” Indian media quoted Thakur as saying.
India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia are placed in Group 2 of the second round Super 10s stage, the ICC announced.
South Africa, England, West Indies and Sri Lanka are in Group 1. Two qualifying teams will join the Super 10s stage after the first round.
The second round gets under way with hosts India taking on New Zealand on March 15 in Nagpur, in the western state of Maharashtra.
Defending champions Sri Lanka begin the defence of their title against a qualifying team on March 17 in Kolkata.
Fate of bilateral series remains uncertain
India's foreign minister told her Pakistani counterpart that a thaw in relations between the two countries could also pave the way for a much-anticipated cricket series, Sartaj Aziz revealed on Friday.
Pakistan is awaiting the green light from New Delhi on the series, which cricket boards in both countries have agreed would consist of three one-day and two Twenty20 internationals set to be played in Sri Lanka in December-January.
