Our Bureau
Bengaluru
The fourth edition of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association) T20 has been told to relocate its matches from Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium to Mysuru’s Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Cricket Stadium. The organisers have announced the shifting of all matches of the tournament that will be held from August 11th to 28th and will be held as a closed-door event.
The Justice John Michael D’Cunha Commission that was appointed by the Government of Karnataka has deemed that the Chinnaswamy Stadium is “unsuitable and unsafe for mass gatherings.” This has been done pertaining to the tragic stampeded couple of months ago that happened in Bengaluru during the championship parade.
Earlier the KSCA officials had considered hosting the tournament at the Alur grounds in the outskirts of Bengaluru. However, the plan was eventually ruled out due to the lack of floodlights and spectator seating facilities.
The city is also set to host the opening match of the eight-team Women’s World Cup which will be held between September 30th to November 2nd. But with these restrictions in the Maharaja Cup there is a cloud of uncertainty on whether the match would happen.
“We’ve written to the State Government and are awaiting a response. It’s not as if they’ve denied permission. If that were the policy, they wouldn’t have allowed the Maharaja Cup in Mysuru. So, we’re waiting. There is some more time for this and we’re going step by step,” a KSCA official said.
The call to shift from Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium to Mysuru has been done because of the ongoing investigation. The investigation of the June 4 stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium that led to the deaths of 11 innocent fans. The stampede happened during the tragic stampede in the championship celebrations of the first title victory of Indian Premier League’s (IPL) by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
