The view of Dharamshala at dawn is truly mesmerising. The town is arranged in tiers, with the residential areas located downhill. On the opposite side, referred to as “upside” by Ramesh, the owner of a tea stall near the stadium, lies McLeodganj, which is home to the Dalai Lama and several monasteries.
The World Cup has brought some relief to this beautiful region of Himachal Pradesh, located at the foot of the Himalayas, which was hit by devastating floods in July and August. Although Dharamshala didn’t see the worst of it, the natural calamity still hurt the tourism sector here.
The view is beautiful, but the England team has had a difficult time preparing for its second game against Bangladesh at the HPCA Stadium. Jos Buttler’s team is one of only two, along with India, to travel after every pool match. England’s national selector Luke Wright had raised concerns about this before the tournament. “We are aware that with a lot of travel and many games in a short space of time, there is a risk of injury to our bowlers. We need to have cover for that,” he said.
