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In a major development for Karnataka cricket and Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans, the Karnataka Cabinet has granted conditional clearance for Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to host IPL 2026 matches. The decision comes after months of uncertainty following the tragic stampede incident on June 4 during RCB’s victory celebrations, which resulted in 11 deaths and several injuries. Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) matches can resume only after the stadium meets all mandated
safety upgrades.
The iconic Chinnaswamy Stadium was declared fundamentally unsafe earlier by the Justice D’Cunha (Cunha) Commission, which led to the stampede and identified severe lapses in design, crowd movement, emergency planning, and traffic control. Following the incident, the stadium lost Women’s World Cup fixtures, and it was excluded from India’s host venues for the men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Following this, there were concerns over Bengaluru possibly losing IPL games as well.
The Karnataka Cabinet approved the stadium’s return to cricket, but only after the Home Department verifies that all safety and structural recommendations in the Cunha Commission report are fully implemented. This included increasing the number of entry and exit gates, creating dedicated queuing and crowd-circulation zones separated from public roads. Furthermore, it stated, implementing internationally compliant emergency evacuation systems, improving traffic management, and parking infrastructure. The Cabinet stressed that matches will resume only after complete compliance with these standards.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar revealed that IPL matches will not be shifted out of Bengaluru and called hosting matches a matter of Karnataka’s pride. He added that the government is committed to ensuring crowd safety while simultaneously ensuring that the city does not lose major sporting events. Shivakumar also confirmed that the state plans to eventually build a new, modern cricket stadium, although Chinnaswamy will remain the top venue in the immediate future.
This is a victory for the sport of cricket: Venkatesh Prasad
Meanwhile, newly elected KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad and his team met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to press for resuming top-level cricket. Prasad confirmed that the KSCA had held discussions with senior BCCI officials as well to ensure Karnataka does not lose big fixtures.
"First and foremost, this is a victory for the sport of cricket. Secondly, this is a victory for all the members who wanted a change, all the people who wanted international cricket to come back to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium," Prasad said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Since the June tragedy, Chinnaswamy Stadium has not hosted a major match. Women’s World Cup games, including the final, were shifted to Navi Mumbai. Domestic matches such as the Duleep Trophy and India A fixtures were moved to alternate BCCI venues.
