Big-ticket cricketing actions in Bengaluru suffered a jolt on Thursday as organisers of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 (August 11 to 28) introduced the shifting of all matches from M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to Mysuru.
The determination comes two weeks after the Justice (Retd.) Michael D’Cunha Commission report — inquiring into the June 4 stampede exterior the Stadium that brought about 11 deaths throughout Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL title-winning celebrations — declared Karnataka cricket’s nerve-centre “unsafe for mass gatherings” in its current state.
With the investigation ongoing, and the case associated to the tragedy being heard within the Karnataka High Court, it’s understood that the Bengaluru metropolis police denied permission for Maharaja Trophy video games right here.
Calls to KSCA president Raghuram Bhat and joint-secretary Shavir Tarapore went unanswered.
Sources mentioned that the breach of fire-safety rules that led to BESCOM slicing off energy provide to the Stadium and the beginning of the monsoon session of the Karnataka legislature from August 11 have been additionally cited as causes.
The improvement calls into query the conduct of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup matches within the Garden City. Four fixtures, together with the tournament-opener between India and Sri Lanka on September 30, a league-stage tie between India and Bangladesh on October 26 and one in every of two semifinals on October 30 are scheduled to be held right here.
Interestingly, the International Cricket Council introduced the total schedule simply over 10 days after the stampede.
On July 11, organisers had introduced that the Maharaja Trophy can be held behind closed doorways even in Bengaluru. Mysuru too could have no followers in attendance.
In truth, it’s the first time in three years that the occasion will function contests performed exterior the State capital, and solely the third time in 12 seasons of Karnataka’s flagship T20 competitors — after 2015 and 2016 — that all the event can be held exterior Bengaluru.
In 2023 and 2024, it had grow to be a Bengaluru-only affair due to broadcasters’ push and the presence of the state-of-the-art drainage system that is useful throughout the Southwest monsoon.
