Venkatesh Prasad says the M Chinnaswamy Stadium should be “buzzing with cricket again”, and he wants the job of making that happen. The former India seamer confirmed in Bengaluru on Wednesday that he will stand in next month’s Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections, flanked by former India women’s captain Shantha Rangaswamy and ex-KSCA office-bearer Vinay Mruthyunjaya.
Key issues first
• Chinnaswamy has not hosted a match since the April stampede that killed 11 spectators during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory parade.
• KSCA is without a secretary and treasurer after both resigned in June.
• Local police and municipal bodies have since refused permission for public events, forcing the Maharaja T20 Trophy to move to Mysuru and putting Bengaluru’s Women’s World Cup fixtures in doubt.
• BESCOM has cut electricity to the ground over outstanding fire-safety compliance.
Against that backdrop, Prasad is pitching a platform of transparency, safety and what he calls “basic, competent” governance.
“We would like to bring back international cricket,” Prasad said. “It’s such an iconic venue, Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has been standing for the last 50 years. This [permission to host matches] is something which has never happened. Even our own Maharaja Cup has also been moved out which is not a good thing.”
The immediate hurdle is government clearance. Mruthyunjaya, a former member of the BCCI finance committee, spelt out the challenge. “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,” he explained.
“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.”
Safety audit on top of the in-tray
A judicial commission led by Justice Michael D’Cunha has already branded the ground “unfit and unsafe” for large gatherings. Prasad’s ticket says it will order fresh structural and crowd-management audits and act on the commission’s findings before approaching the government.
“We would definitely like to review the recommendations of the Judicial Commission with respect to the government agencies,” Mruthyunja.
While the campaign slogan is about bringing cricket back, the sub-text is restoring credibility. Rangaswamy, who was India’s first women’s Test captain, believes voters will respond. She said the trio’s playing and administrative experience can “bridge the trust gap” between fans and KSCA officials, yet she was quick to temper expectations, pointing out that stadium upgrades “won’t be fixed overnight”.
Analysis without the jargon
Put simply, KSCA needs two approvals: structural clearance from civic bodies and a no-objection certificate from state police. Without both, the BCCI will keep key matches away, and Chinnaswamy’s revenue model—already dented by the loss of IPL off-season events—will weaken further. The electors, mainly district-level clubs, now have to decide if Prasad’s group is better placed than the incumbent faction to win those approvals.
Election day is six weeks away. For the moment, the real contest might be between Prasad’s optimism and the hard reality of a venerable stadium waiting for the lights to come back on.
