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Shimla Cricket Ground
Ground

Field Status Pitch Ready

Padechi, near Mehli

Shimla Cricket Ground

A private ground on a steep hillside at Padechi, near Mehli, built by three friends over about four years.

Air Density 1.04kg/m³
The ground from the hillside above: a green oval with the pitch at its centre, ringed by forested mountains

Pitch & Turf

The Pitch
Playing area
120 x 90m

About 120 m x 90 m

Surface
American grass

Surface laid with American grass

Shimla Cricket Ground with a match in progress: a sandy pitch on the green outfield below forested hills

The Story

  1. From 2021 • Cut from a hillside

    Building the ground

    Three friends turned a steep hillside at Padechi, near Mehli, into a cricket ground over about four years.

A cricket ground cut into a steep mountainside seen from above, with a pale pitch strip, a boundary wall and fence, and forested hills under a blue sky.
The ground in detail

About the ground

What follows is limited to what has been reported about the ground and confirmed with its owners. Where something has not been confirmed, we say so rather than guess.

Step by step

How the ground was built

The reports do not give a dated sequence beyond the 2021 start and the build of about four years. The steps below describe the work, not a calendar.

The ground seen from the hillside above, a green oval with the pitch at its centre, a retaining wall on one side and net fencing around the boundary

  1. 2021

    The idea

    Veenu Diwan, Ajay Thakur and Abhay Thakur, three friends and cricket lovers, begin work on the idea of a ground of their own at Padechi, near Mehli.

  2. The hill side

    Cutting into the slope

    The site is a steep hillside, so the ground was made by heavy cutting into the hill on one side.

  3. The valley side

    Filling and levelling

    On the other side the ground is built up with infill. More than 70,000 tipper loads of debris were moved in all.

  4. Along the slope

    Retaining walls

    Retaining walls about 150 m long hold the ground in place. The reports give different heights for the walls, so no height is quoted here.

  5. The surface

    American grass

    The playing area, about 120 m by 90 m, is laid with American grass, as reported by The News Himachal.

  6. The time it took

    About four years

    From the first idea in 2021 to a finished ground, the build took about four years.

  7. What comes next

    Academy, hostel and Pro-HPCL

    A residential cricket academy and a hostel are planned. Pro-HPCL Season 4 was set to be played here in April 2026.

The pitch

The playing area

The wide outfield of Shimla Cricket Ground under a sky of small clouds, with forested hills behind

The playing area is about 120 m long and 90 m wide. The Tribune gives it as 120 x 90 m and The News Himachal as 91 m wide and 120 m long, so we say about 120 m by 90 m until exact boundary distances are confirmed.

The surface is American grass, as reported by The News Himachal. Level ground on a steep hillside exists here because the hill was cut back on one side and the valley side was built up and held by retaining walls.

Not yet published: the number of pitches and nets, seating, floodlights and the altitude. None of these has been confirmed, so this page leaves them out. They will be added here once the owners confirm them.

As reported

Facilities

Janta Times TV names these facilities. It is a single report, so read the list as what has been reported, not as a confirmed inventory.

  • Match-ready pitches

    Named in the report. The number and type of pitches are not confirmed.

  • Practice nets

    Named in the report. The number of nets is not confirmed.

  • Fitness area

    Named in the report.

  • Dining

    Named in the report. Ground hire teams can add lunch per person, and tea is complimentary; the ground booking page has the details.

  • Stay for about 100 people

    The report mentions stay for about 100 people. Ask us about accommodation when you enquire.

Hire rates and what each package includes are on the ground booking page.

Planned

Academy and hostel

Players on the pitch square at Shimla Cricket Ground during a match, with netting and forested hills behind

A residential cricket academy and a hostel are planned at the ground, according to The Tribune, The News Himachal and Janta Times TV. Start dates, fees, age groups and batches have not been announced here yet. The academy page is where programmes and enquiries are handled.

Pro-HPCL (Himachal Premier Cricket League) Season 4 was set to be played at this ground in April 2026, according to The News Himachal, The Tribune and Janta Times TV. Earlier seasons were held elsewhere, at Mohali and Panchkula.

Before you go

Visiting

Pine-covered mountain slopes in the afternoon light above the cricket ground

The ground is in the Padechi gram panchayat, on the outskirts of Shimla near Mehli (Kasumpti area).

The button below opens the ground's pin in Google Maps. The distance from Shimla and the altitude are not published because the reports differ and nothing has been confirmed. For help finding us, message the ground on WhatsApp or send a request through ground booking, and we will guide you.

  • Check the weather forecast before you set out; mountain weather can change quickly.
  • Bring a warm layer. It gets cold on the hillside once the sun goes down.
  • Wear comfortable sports shoes; the ground is on a hillside.
  • Ask us for directions before you travel instead of relying on a general map search.
Where this comes from

Sources

  • The Tribune: In Shimla, 3 die-hard cricket buffs play ball, carve out ground from hillside.

    Who built the ground, the 2021 start, the four-year build and the 120 x 90 m playing area.

  • The News Himachal: Shimla Gets Its Cricket Dream: Private Initiative Delivers What State Couldn't (December 2025).

    The hillside cutting and infill, the tipper loads and retaining walls, the American grass and Pro-HPCL Season 4.

  • Janta Times TV: Hindi newspaper clipping supplied by the owner.

    The facilities named above, the academy and hostel, and the build figures. This is the only source for the facilities list.

Visitor Protocol

Visitor Guide

Weather Tips

  • Warm clothing: It gets cold on the hillside after sunset. Bring a warm layer.
Pine-covered mountain slopes in the afternoon light above the cricket ground
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