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Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is set to host cricket matches for the first time since the stampede outside the premises of the iconic venue in June earlier this year, a day after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title during the victory celebrations.
The Bengaluru Stadium is one of the designated venues for the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) organised K Thimmappiah Memorial Trophy, a red-ball pre-season tournament featuring 16 teams. Chinnaswamy will host six matches, including the semifinals and final, starting from September 26. However, no fans will be allowed inside the venue.
Ajinkya Rahane, all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Vijay Shankar and Shashank Singh are some of the top players who will be seen featuring in the red-ball tournament for their respective teams.
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The venue's return to cricket also coincides with RCB breaking their social media silence over the tragic stampede. Over the past few days, the franchise has made a series of posts, including an announcement of extending Rs 25 lakhs to the families of those who died, while also committing itself to long-term action towards crowd safety management.
The venue has been at the centre of a long, ongoing tussle between KSCA, the Karnataka government and the state politics, all of whom have been under investigation, along with the franchise, by a one-man tribunal formed after the June 4 incident.
Chinnaswamy Stadium has been caught in a tug-of-war between the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), the state government, and the police. All of them, along with the RCB, are currently being investigated by a one-man tribunal after the stampede that happened on June 4.
KSCA is also facing problems with local authorities. The electricity board (BESCOM) has cut off the stadium’s power supply because it hasn’t met fire safety requirements. As of Wednesday (September 3), the stadium still hadn’t received a no-objection certificate (NOC). For now, it's running on generators and solar power.
Earlier, the stadium was set to host the five matches of the Women's ODI World Cup 2025, which is scheduled to start from September 30, but it lost all five matches after the KSCA was not given permission to host the event.
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