“Want to bring international cricket back to Chinnaswamy”- Venkatesh Prasad announces candidature for KSCA

Venkatesh Prasad will be contesting in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president elections.

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad has announced his candidature for the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president elections. He claimed that he wants to restore the glory of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after it was involved in controversy over the safety of fans.

Since June, the association has been operating without a secretary and treasurer, who resigned on the grounds of moral responsibility following the stampede that killed 11 people during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) victory party at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Due to repeated refusals of police clearance for subsequent events, the KSCA was forced to move the Maharaja T20 Trophy to Mysore. Right now, it appears more and more likely that Bengaluru won’t have the necessary permits to host games during the forthcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.

Due to non-compliance with fire safety standards, the venue’s power was switched off by the electricity supply department (BESCOM), one of the local regulatory authorities with which KSCA has previously encountered problems.

Venkatesh Prasad makes huge claims on Chinnaswamy Stadium; better administration at KSCA

At a Bengaluru event on Wednesday, Prasad, the former vice president of the KSCA from 2013 to 2016, declared his intention to run for the board elections. Vinay Mruthyunjaya, a former KSCA office bearer and member of the BCCI’s financial committee, and Shantha Rangaswamy, the former captain of the Indian women’s team, are on his team.

“We would like to bring back international cricket. It’s such an iconic venue, Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has been standing for the last 50 years. This [permission to host matches] is something that has never happened. Even our own Maharaja Cup has also been moved out, which is not a good thing,” Prasad was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Prasad also discussed a modification to the Chinnaswamy Stadium’s seating arrangement that will enable KSCA to accommodate up to 50,000 spectators. 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 need to work on that. Because, as I said earlier, this was built in 1974. I’m sure we cannot take it to 80,000 and so on. So probably another 15,000 more, maybe up to 50,000, and now it’s 34,000-35,000,” he added.

At first, the location was supposed to host four ICC Women’s ODI World Cup matches. The ICC is currently thinking of moving the games to another location, with Thiruvananthapuram’s Greenfield International Stadium leading the race as a replacement, as the local government and law enforcement authorities have not yet provided security clearance.

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