Venkatesh Prasad and M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Source: @ddsportschannel, @CricSubhayan/X.com)
Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad is all set to contest for the president's post in the upcoming Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections. Launching his manifesto, Prasad assured that his aim is to bring cricket back to the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Prasad Hopeful Of Bringing Cricket Back To Chinnaswamy
Following the tragic stampede that happened after the Indian Premier League (IPL) victory for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru has been under the scanner, following the death of 11 people, whereas an unaccounted number of people got severely injured.
The deadly stampede that caused many casualties has since been banned from hosting any public events, including cricket matches. The recent drama regarding the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup being moved out of Chinnaswamy, alongside the Maharaja T20 Cup, has further added tension for the state association and its members, as well as the fans.
The fact that Chinnaswamy has been deemed unsafe for large stadium events by the government panel and tribunal is a matter of concern, as necessary approvals would require quite some time to be cleared to bring the game back to the stadium, which has been hosting cricket for a very long time.
Now, the KSCA, which has been functioning without a president and secretary, as both of them resigned following the controversy, is also set to undergo elections in the upcoming term. Former Indian cricketers Venkatesh Prasad, Shanta Rangaswamy, and Vinay Mruthyunjaya, a former treasurer of KSCA, launched their manifesto as a team. The main aim was to bring cricket back into the stadium, which is known to have a vibrant atmosphere.
Speaking on the sidelines, Prasad clarified that his major aim is to ensure that Chinnaswamy gets the games, as it isn’t nice to have international cricket not happening here.
"We would like to bring back international cricket. Every international match has been moved out of Bangalore. It's such an iconic venue, Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has been standing for the last 50 years. This is something which has never happened. Even our own Maharaja Cup has also been moved out which is not a good thing," Venkatesh Prasad said.
Further, the ex-treasurer, Mruthyanjaya, provided insight into why they have not been able to host matches due to the lack of permission from the government authorities.
"One of the preconditions whenever the BCCI allots matches, they give us a deadline to get the state government permission. If we don't get the permission, they will not host the matches," Mruthyunjaya revealed.
Permissions from the government, including the police departments and the electricity supply department (Bescom), have been consistently denied, as the non-supply of electricity has been a major cause of concern due to fire safety regulations.
"In the current situation, as you know that the permission has been denied... What we mean to say is, we are going to work together to see that as and when the match comes to Bangalore, we will put our efforts to get the necessary permissions from the government agencies," Mruthyunjaya further spoke.
Chinnaswamy's Upgradation On The Cards
Further speaking, Prasad gave more insights about his plan, where he emphasised the fact that they want to improve the conditions of the stadium and, alongside that, increase the capacity from 35,000 currently to at least 50,000. Knowing the reality that it can’t be taken to 80,000 due to the current engineering problems.
"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," Prasad concluded.
In the end, he further said that they would want to make sure that former legends Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid get their due as Karnataka legends, as they will name the ends at the stadium after them.
Alongside having stands in the name of Shanta Rangaswamy and the former BCCI secretary, C. Nagaraj. It is worth mentioning that the cricketing body is expected to go into elections around October and November, when the state of the venue is likely to become clearer.
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