The BCCIs now have a new headache to manage, because the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru was deemed unfit after the Bengaluru
The Justice John Michael Cunha Commission, probing the Bengaluru stampede that occurred on the day after RCB’s winning IPL 2025, has declared the M Chinnaswamy stadium unfit to host big events. The Karnataka Police, KSCA and the state government have been pointing fingers at each other for the mishap that killed 11 and injured several. The probe’s findings will come as a headache for the BCCI, with Bengaluru being one of the important venues for IPL 2026 and the Women’s ODI World Cup later this year.
No more matches at M Chinnaswamy sstadium?
As per ESPNCricinfo, the commission’s report claimed that the Chinnaswamy stadium’s “design and structure” are inherently “unsuitable and unsafe” for mass gatherings. It stated that hosting any mass events in the future would be an unacceptable risk to public safety. The Justice Cunha Commission has blamed RCB, DNA Entertainment and the KSCA for the stampede.
The Commission’s report means the BCCI will now be left in a fix over the possibility of having to shift out all planned matches. The Chinnaswamy stadium is supposed to host the Women’s ODI World Cup opener and the semi-final later in September. Besides, Karnataka has no other international venue apart from Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, the Maharaja Trophy which is scheduled to be held from August, will be played behind closed doors, as per KSCA. As for RCB, it remains to be seen if they can retain Chinnaswamy as their home ground or will have to hunt for a new one. Even as the report has been submitted, RCB and the Karnataka government are at loggerheads in the court.
“The panel also recommended action against KSCA chief Raghuram Bhat, ex-secretary A Shankar, ex-treasurer ES Jairam – both of whom resigned citing “moral responsibility” in the aftermath of the incident – RCB vice-president Rajesh Menon, DNA Entertainment Networks MD T Venkat Vardhan and VP Sunil Mathur,” the report stated.
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Finally someone is taking stadium infrastructure seriously. Its about time BCCI looked at ground conditions properly before hosting international tournaments. Better to fix now than embarrass during actual matches.
This could actually be blessing in disguise for RCB. New venue, fresh start, maybe finally break the curse? 😄 They never won at Chinnaswamy anyway, time to try somewhere else haha
Good decision by authorities. Safety first!
Does anyone remember similar thing happened before 2016 T20 World Cup also?? They shifted matches last minute and created so much chaos. Why BCCI never learns from past mistakes is beyond me. Same pattern repeating again and again with no accountability whatsoever.
So Chinnaswamy stadium declared ‘unfit’ but still charging premium prices for regular matches currently 🤣 Makes total sense! Maybe they mean unfit only for important games, regular fans can suffer poor facilities as usual.
This is really disappointing news for Bangalore fans! Chinnaswamy is such iconic venue and now they saying its not fit for big matches?? How can BCCI let this happen when World Cup and IPL is coming soon. RCB home ground should be in top condition always.
Oh great! So now RCB has another excuse ready when they dont win trophy again 😂😂 ‘Our stadium was unfit’ will be new reason added to the list. Classic RCB things!
The stadium was last renovated in 2018 i think? The drainage system and outfield maintenance has been issues for while now. They need to upgrade lighting systems too for day-night matches and install better pitch monitoring equipments. Will probably take 6-8 months minimum for complete overhaul.
I’m confuse… does this mean RCB will play home matches in different city now? Or they cancelling games completely? Article doesnt explain properly what the ‘solution’ actually is. Someone please clarify.
Wait, so your telling me that BCCI just realized NOW that stadium is unfit??? Like they didn’t know before announcing schedule?? This is typical indian sports administration – always reactive never proactive. What about the fans who already booked tickets and hotels??
BCCI has unlimited money but cant maintain ONE stadium properly?? Meanwhile countries with much less resources hosting world class tournaments. Something is seriously wrong with how cricket boards operates in india. Too much money going into wrong pockets instead of infrastructure development i guess.
The real question is – why wasnt regular maintainence done throughout year? Stadium dont become unfit overnight. This shows lack of proper planning and monitoring by Karnataka State Cricket Association and BCCI both. They should have assessment reports quarterly basis.