Shimla, Dec 21 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh will host two Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches in Dharamsala in April 2010, an organiser said Monday. This is the first time that the IPL matches have been allotted to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA).
“Two IPL matches will be played at the International Cricket Stadium in Dharamsala April 16 and 18,” HPCA president Anurag Thakur told IANS.

“The first match would be played during the day and at night, while the second one on April 18 would be played during the day,” he said.

Thakur, an MP from Hamirpur in the state, said the Himachal Pradesh government had been requested to extend the Gaggal airport to accommodate the landing of bigger aircrafts and to make provision for night landing facilities.

He said the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has also decided to hold the National Indoor Games 2010 in the state.

Thakur said the games would be held at various venues, but mainly in the newly built indoor stadium in Dharamsala, about 250 km from state capital Shimla.