"Matter of respect.." K'taka DY CM DK Shivakumar vows to bring RCB's IPL 2026 home games to M Chinnaswamy Stadium

RCB’s home ground, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, has been barred from hosting major events after the June 4 stampede.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said Sunday that he will ensure that Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 matches are held in M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This comes after M Chinnaswamy Stadium was barred from holding matches by the court after the June 4 stampede at the venue.

The tragic incident happened when Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB) were celebrating their IPL 2025 win at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The whole thing was organized without proper police permissions and saw a swelling crowd gathering at the venue for free tickets.

This resulted in a stampede that saw 11 people being crushed to death, including children. Since then, the stadium should deploy crowd control measures, according to a judicial commission’s recommendation. Major cricket matches will no longer be held at the stadium, and as a result, Bengaluru lost the hosting rights of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 matches, which were played at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.

“We will allow all the matches”- Karnataka DY CM DK Shivakumar vows to have IPL 2026 being played in Bengaluru

Shivakumar voted in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections on Sunday, which were won by former India player Venkatesh Prasad. He expressed delight in the IPL games being held at RCB’s home stadium, M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“This is a question of Bengaluru and Karnataka’s pride. We will ensure the IPL matches are held here. We will allow all the matches which are going to take place here. I am a cricket fan. We will ensure that such incidents don’t recur and uphold the stadium’s reputation. We will also build a new stadium as an alternative,” Shivakumar was quoted as saying by ANI.

“I am a member of KSCA. Nagaraj (former KSCA official), whose son was my classmate, had given me a membership when I was very young. I know a lot of cricketers, including (Erapalli) Prasanna and Anil Kumble, through Brijesh Patel. I have cast my vote for the ones I support,” Shivakumar added.

The Bengaluru police filed many cases against RCB, KSCA, and the event organizers, DNA Entertainment Network, following the stampede outside the stadium, which happened as masses attempted to enter without adequate crowd management.

Following the Karnataka High Court’s July 8 direction that chargesheets not be prepared without its approval, chargesheets have not yet been filed in the stampede cases that the police have taken on.

The Karnataka government established a judicial commission to investigate the stampede, led by retired Karnataka High Court judge Justice John Michael D’Cunha.

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