“Chinnaswamy needs a revival” - Venkatesh Prasad promises upgrade and return of matches

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad has pledged to bring back the lost charm of Bengaluru’s iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium as he prepares to contest in the upcoming Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections. Launching his campaign, Prasad made it clear that his priority is to restore the venue’s stature and bring international cricket back to the city.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium has been barred from hosting public events after the tragic stampede incident during RCB’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations. Since then, several matches have been shifted away, and reports suggest that fixtures for the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will also be moved.

“Every international match has been moved out of Bangalore” - Prasad

Even the former pacer shared his disappointment because the Maharaja T20 Trophy matches got shifted. 

Addressing his vision, Prasad said, "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.”

Former KSCA treasurer, Mruthyanjaya, also pointed out that government approvals remain a hurdle.

"One of the preconditions whenever the BCCI allots matches is to get state government permission. If we don't get it, matches cannot be hosted. In the current situation, the permission has been denied. What we mean to say is, we are going to work together to ensure that whenever matches are allotted to Bangalore, we will put in efforts to get the necessary permissions," he said.

Prasad also stressed the need to upgrade the stadium infrastructure to meet modern demands.

"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. Right now, it’s 34,000-35,000,” he explained.

As part of his vision, Prasad promised to honour Karnataka’s cricketing greats by dedicating stands to legends like Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.

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