Will Dharamshala face ban?

CHANDIGARH: Will the picturesque Dharamshala cricket stadium be banned from holding international matches now that the marquee clash between India and Pakistan of the ongoing World T20 has been shifted to Kolkata? BJP MP and Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president Anurag Thakur told TOI he was keeping his fingers crossed.
"It's too early to say but we will have to wait till we receive a notice from the International Cricket Council," Thakur said."This is a disgrace he (Himachal Pradesh's Congress chief minister Virbhadra Singh) has brought to Himachal and the country," he raged. "Globally, states go out of their way to pitch for such events where a bidding process takes place. They got it free because of our hard work. Globally people are laughing because 10 days before such an event a chief minister says he can't provide security."
Thakur, who is also Bsecretary, said the sword of a hefty penalty is hanging on their heads despite the Pakistan Cricket Board, and not the Indian board, saying it did not want to play in Dharamshala. "After all, Pakistan took a call after listening to the Himachal CM. This was clearly stated by PCB."
Senior BCCI officials however insist Dharamshala will not be penalized. M P Pandove, a member of the IPL governing council and secretary general of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), said, "It's not as if the match has been cancelled. It has been shifted from one venue to another and this has happened in earlier ICC tournaments too. I am pretty sure that HPCA won't face any sanction or penalty because it was the decision of the Pakistan board not to let their team play in Dharamshala. BCCI had assured them full security," Pandove told TOI.
ICC chief executive officer Dave Richardson said, "We understand the circumstances. India is a big and complicated country and there are challenges with every ICC event. It is the best decision to shift the match to Kolkata. It's not unprecedented. It's unfortunate these concerns were raised. It was better if raised early. It's a difficult decision. We wanted to stick to the original plan but we were forced into (relocation)," Richardson said.
(Inputs by PTI)
Martyrs disgraced: Anurag
BCCI secretary and HPCA president Anurag Thakur has given a new spin to the war of words being fought in Himachal Pradesh over Indian soldiers killed in wars and the India-Pakistan cricket match. He told TOI, "Giving Pakistan an opportunity to blame India for not providing security is unfortunate. Is this homage to the Indian soldiers who have been martyred for keeping the Indian flag flying high or is this a disgrace to them? This one act of Virbhadra Singh has brought the flag down as Pakistan is now raising fingers at India and saying it is incapable of prevising security." Virbhadra had said that his police officers would not take action against family members of Indian soldiers who died and war veterans if they protested at the Dharamshala stadium during the match.