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M Chinnaswamy Stadium To Host First Cricket Tournament Since June 4 Tragedy

Rajgeeta Yadav

Chinnaswamy Stadium [@ImTanujSingh/X.com]Chinnaswamy Stadium [@ImTanujSingh/X.com]

For the first time since the tragic stampede on June 4, which killed 11 people and injured more than 50 during RCB’s IPL victory parade, Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is set to host cricket again after 3 months. 

According to ESPN, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has confirmed that the ground will be one of the venues for the K Thimmappiah Memorial Trophy, a red-ball pre-season tournament featuring 16 teams. 

Chinnaswamy Stadium Reopens After Stampede

Notably, the matches will run from September 26, with Chinnaswamy hosting six games, including the semi-final and final. However, as a safety measure, fans will not be allowed inside the stadium.

Teams like Mumbai, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will be part of the tournament, meaning fans can expect big names like Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Venkatesh Iyer, Vijay Shankar, and Shashank Singh in action, though only on TV or online, not in person.

The decision to allow matches comes while investigations are still ongoing into the stampede incident. The state government, police, and RCB are all under scrutiny by a tribunal.

Meanwhile, the stadium itself has faced setbacks. The power supply was cut off by BESCOM (the local electricity board) for not meeting fire safety rules, forcing the stadium to depend on generators and solar energy. Because of these safety issues, Chinnaswamy was not cleared to host Women’s World Cup matches later this year, including the opening game, a semi-final, and the final.

In response to the tragedy, RCB pledged ₹25 lakh to the victims’ families and promised to work on long-term crowd safety measures. Earlier, safety concerns also forced the Maharaja Trophy T20 to be moved out of Bengaluru.

A government-appointed panel even declared Chinnaswamy “unsafe” for big events. In light of this, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar announced that a brand-new 60,000-seater stadium will be built on the city’s outskirts as part of a large sports complex.