The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association said on Friday that Kings XI Punjab are not willing to play their Indian Premier League matches in Dharamsala as they haven't received any positive response from the state government.
HPCA public relations officer Sanjay Sharma said that after waiting for the HP government's reply for the last nine days, Kings XI wrote to IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, saying they want their three matches to be played in Mohali now and not Dharamsala.
Sharma said, "The government did not give any security assurance in 2014, as a result the matches went to Cuttack.
"Kings XI made Cuttack their home ground and in 2015 they had to choose Pune as their home ground. Now when Pune has its own team, Kings XI face a problem with the ground and opted for Nagpur as their second venue.
"Due to water scarcity, matches were shifted outside Maharashtra and they approached us.
"They wanted Dharamsala to be their venue for the next three matches. On behalf of HPCA, we wrote a letter to the CM of Himachal on April 21, asking for his written consent. But no reply came from the government till date."
Sharma further said, "Yesterday Kings XI Punjab team owners called up Rajeev Shukla that they want their three matches to be played in Mohali and not Dharamshala."
