Indian, British MPs to play T20 match

Dharamsala, April 9 (IANS) Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012 matches at the picturesque stadium here, the venue is all set to host a friendly match between Indian and British MPs April 13, a statement said here Monday.

'It's a great day in the history of HPCA that we would be hosting the members of parliament for a match from the two countries who have a long history of the game,' Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association president Anurag Thakur said in a statement.

The Indian parliamentarians include Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Rajiv Shukla, Anurag Thakur, Kailash Singh Deo, Dushayant Singh, Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi, Mohammad Azharuddin and Kirti Azad.

HPCA officials said the stadium's popularity had soared thanks to hosting five IPL matches in the past two seasons.

It's being counted as the second home ground for the Kings XI Punjab team, which originally belongs to Mohali.

The stadium, 250 km from state capital Shimla, has a 20,600-seating capacity, besides separate practice areas, a club lounge, restaurant, bar and a banquet hall.

This IPL season, the HPCA stadium is hosting two matches -- Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings May 17 and Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils May 19.