Bengaluru: Cricket fans can heave a sigh of relief after the Karnataka State Cricket Association operator of M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru city gets nod from the Home Department, Government of Karnataka to host cricket matches in ensuing Indian Premier League (IPL)-2026 and other international cricket fixtures.
However, the permission to host cricket matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium comes with conditions to stick with specific terms and conditions prescribed by Karnataka Government and authorities concerned.
The State Government withdrew permission for KSCA to host cricket matches following stampede at the Chinnaswamy stadium which killed 11 persons and injured as many as 70 when a huge crowd gathering around the stadium made a desperate attempt to get into the stadium to catch glimpse of felicitations to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) players winning IPL-2025 trophy. The stampede occurred on June 4.
In December, the KCSA affiliated to the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) made an appeal to the State Government to give permission for hosting a cricket match of Vijay Hazare trophy between Delhi and Andhra Pradesh but permission was denied by the State Government. The match was later shifted to a venue at Centre of Excellence of BCCI near Devanahalli close to Bengaluru city.
Over granting of permission for KSCA to resume matches at Chinnaswamy stadium, Official spokesperson of KSCA Vinay Mruthyunjaya in a note here on Saturday stated “KSCA is confident of fulfilling all stipulated conditions (laid down by the State Government).”
Adding he said, the Association has already made a detailed compliance roadmap before the Expert Review Committee which included Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, Chief Commissioner of Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), Fire and Emergency Services, Health officials among others and remains fully committed to implementing all safety, security and crowd-management measures in letter and spirit.
