Following the stampede disaster that claimed 11 lives in and around the stadium on June 4, Bengaluru’s iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, one of the most well-known cricketing venues in the nation, has been struggling since it was banned from hosting any matches. Venkatesh Prasad, a former cricket player for India, has pledged to restore cricket to the city and restore Chinnaswamy’s lost renown.
Notably, on Wednesday, August 27 in Bengaluru, Prasad will run in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections. Following the fatal stampede, ES Jairam and A Shankar resigned from their positions on “moral responsibility” grounds, leaving the state organisation without a secretary and treasurer. In order to effect change, Prasad hopes to work at KSCA in an administrative capacity.
“We want international cricket to return. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has stood for the past 50 years, is such a famous location. This [authority to host matches] has never occurred before. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Prasaid stated, “It is not good that even our own Maharaja T20 Trophy has been moved out.”
Plans to expand the number of seats at Chinnaswamy
Additionally, Prasad discussed a modification to the Chinnaswamy Stadium’s seating arrangement that will enable KSCA to accommodate up to 50,000 people. Nearly 35,000 fans can fit in the current building, but things must change with time. In Bengaluru, a cricket-mad city, where demand for games is always high, 50,000 spectators seems reasonable and would be warmly received by the community.
“We must address that. Because, as I mentioned before, this was constructed in 1974. We can’t take it to 80,000, I’m positive. Thus, it’s currently between 34,000 and 35,000, with perhaps another 15,000 or perhaps 50,000.
Originally, the location was supposed to host four Women’s ODI World Cup matches. The ICC has now been obliged to reconsider moving the matches to a another location, with Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium emerging as the front-runner, due to the inability to secure security permissions from the local government and law enforcement officials.
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