Bengaluru: Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) President Venkatesh Prasad said the decision of IPL 2026 games returning to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium now rests with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, adding that ‘the ball is in their court.’
The stadium has not hosted any competitive cricket since June 4, when 11 fans died in a stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The conditional clearance comes amid discussions over RCB potentially shifting home matches to Navi Mumbai, or Raipur.
“First to think, we are aiming to get back IPL games and all upto RCB. It’s left to them – they have to come back and be in sync with KSCA and the government of Karnataka. The ball is in their court now. There’s nothing concrete that has come up and we have been talking. So its now for them to come back to us,” Prasad told IANS on Wednesday.
He also expressed gratitude to various stakeholders for giving the conditional clearance of hosting games once again. “There is still a lot of work to be done. The job is half done, I should say. We have got the conditional letter, for which I am extremely thankful to the government of Karnataka, including the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and the Home Minister especially been very supportive, as he himself is a very keen sports enthusiast.
“We had a couple of meetings and phone calls with the Honourable home minister. I think he’s been amazing and constituted a committee that visited to see the progress and what is it that we need to be doing. Everything is now in place for sure,” added Prasad, the former India pacer.
He also spoke about the other infrastructural work which needs to be done and expressed hope over getting it all done by the end of February. “Yes, it about the entrances and exits, spectators holding areas, and services like the fire department, BESCOM, and others has been mostly completed.
“So it’s just a few things are still pending, with entry and exit being one of the most important aspects and fire engine being able to get inside the ground and we are trying to see how we can accommodate that.
“We have provided a timeline based on the recommendations given to us. We have given those timelines, and hopefully, by the end of February, we should be able to complete everything,” he concluded.
(IANS)
