Maharaja Trophy matches shifted from Chinnaswamy Stadium to Mysuru

Big-ticket cricketing activities in Bengaluru suffered a jolt on Thursday as organisers of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 (August 11 to 28) announced the shifting of all matches from M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to Mysuru.

The decision comes two weeks after the Justice (Retd.) Michael D’Cunha Commission report — inquiring into the June 4 stampede outside the Stadium that caused 11 deaths during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL title-winning celebrations — declared Karnataka cricket’s nerve-centre “unsafe for mass gatherings” in its present state.

With the investigation ongoing, and the case related to the tragedy being heard in the Karnataka High Court, it is understood that the Bengaluru city police denied permission for Maharaja Trophy games here.

Calls to KSCA president Raghuram Bhat and joint-secretary Shavir Tarapore went unanswered.

Sources said that the breach of fire-safety regulations that led to BESCOM cutting off power supply to the Stadium and the start of the monsoon session of the Karnataka legislature from August 11 were also cited as reasons.

The development calls into question the conduct of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup matches in the Garden City. Four fixtures, including the tournament-opener between India and Sri Lanka on September 30, a league-stage tie between India and Bangladesh on October 26 and one of two semifinals on October 30 are scheduled to be held here.

Interestingly, the International Cricket Council announced the full schedule just over 10 days after the stampede.

On July 11, organisers had announced that the Maharaja Trophy would be held behind closed doors even in Bengaluru. Mysuru too will have no fans in attendance.

In fact, it is the first time in three years that the event will feature contests played outside the State capital, and only the third time in 12 seasons of Karnataka’s flagship T20 competition — after 2015 and 2016 — that the entire tournament will be held outside Bengaluru.

In 2023 and 2024, it had become a Bengaluru-only affair because of broadcasters’ push and the presence of the state-of-the-art drainage system that comes in handy during the Southwest monsoon.