Prasad vows to bring cricket back to Chinnaswamy

Newly-elected Karnataka State Cricket Association president Venkatesh Prasad called upon the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Prasad described the meeting with the two leaders as "extremely positive", saying the aim is to bring back international cricket and IPL to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The stadium hasn't hosted top-tier matches since a stampede outside the ground claimed 11 lives during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL title celebrations on June 4. 

The domestic matches including Duleep Trophy and 'A' series between India and South Africa were shifted to BCCI's Centre of Excellence.

The ICC Women's ODI World Cup matches, including the final, were moved out of the stadium after KSCA functioned without a treasurer and a secretary, who had resigned on moral grounds following the stampede.

"It was an extremely positive, extremely fruitful meeting we had with the CM and DCM. They have assured us that they

are going to discuss this in tomorrow's cabinet, in the assembly and they are going to take a very positive decision in making these two things, international cricket and the IPL to come back to Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has been an iconic stadium for the last five decades, and bring back cricket so that our, you know, our fans would start appreciating and enjoying the whole game," Prasad told ANI.

Prasad was elected as the president of the KSCA on Sunday. Former India batter Sujith Somasunder, head of education at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence, was elected vice-president of the KSCA.

Prasad won the election after receiving unanimous backing from former teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, among others, defeating his rival, K N Shanth Kumar, by a 749-558 margin.

Shivakumar wished the newly elected KSCA body a successful tenure and discussed ways to boost cricket infrastructure and the sport in Karnataka.

"Glad to meet the newly elected President of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Shri Venkatesh Prasad, along with Shri Santhosh Menon, Shri Sujith Somasundar, Shri Vinay Mruthyunjaya and the team in Belagavi today. We had a constructive discussion on strengthening cricketing infrastructure and empowering the sport in Karnataka. Wishing them a productive and successful tenure," Shivakumar said on X.