Chinnaswamy is such an iconic venue, we would like to bring cricket back here: Venkatesh Prasad

Bengaluru’s iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has been having a hard time, as one of the most prominent cricketing venues in the country has been suspended to host any matches in the aftermath of the stampede incident that took 11 lives in and around the stadium on June 4. However, former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad has promised to bring cricketing action back to the city and revive the lost reputation of Chinnaswamy.

Notably, Prasad will be contesting elections for Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which will be held on Wednesday, August 27 in Bengaluru. The state association has been working without a secretary and treasurer after ES Jairam and A Shankar had vacated the respective posts on ‘moral responsibility’ grounds following the deadly stampede. Prasad aims to hold an administrative position at KSCA in order to bring about a change.

“We would like to bring back international cricket. 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 T20 Trophy has also been moved out, which is not a good thing,” Prasaid said in an interaction with ESPNcricinfo.

Plans on increasing Chinnaswamy’s seating capacity

Furthermore, Prasad also talked about a change in seating structure at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which will help KSCA increase its seating capacity up to 50,000 spectators. The current structure can accommodate close to 35,000 fans, but with time, things need to change. With demand always high for games in the cricket-crazy city of Bengaluru, 50,000 spectators seems just and will be hugely welcomed by the fraternity.

“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.”

The venue is originally scheduled to host four games of the impending Women’s ODI World Cup. However, failure to obtain security permissions from the local government and law enforcement authorities has now forced the ICC to re-think of allocating the matches to another venue, with the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram emerging as the frontrunner.

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