Karnataka Deputy CM refuses to shift RCB’s IPL matches out of Chinnaswamy Stadium despite stampede that claimed 11 lives

Karnataka's Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar asserts that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will continue to host IPL games, emphasizing its importance to Bengaluru.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has tried to slam the door on any talk of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home games moving out of the city, calling the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium the “pride of Bengaluru and Karnataka” and vowing that IPL fixtures will continue to be staged there.

M Chinnaswamy Stadium (HT_PRINT)

Speaking to the reporters after casting his vote in the Karnataka State Cricket Association presidential elections, Shivakumar said the government remained committed to keeping the league in the city despite heightened security following this year’s deadly stampede at the venue.

The June 4 crowd crush outside Chinnaswamy, during celebrations for RCB’s maiden IPL title, killed 11 people and triggered serious questions over whether the stadium should keep hosting large-scale events. Multiple reports and court proceedings since have highlighted lapses in planning, permissions, and crowd management on the day of the tragedy.

Shivakumar insisted the state had learned from the disaster and would tighten systems rather than surrender Bengaluru’s place on the IPL map. “I’m a cricket lover. We will ensure that the accident in Karnataka does not happen again and hold cricket events at Chinnswamy Stadium in a manner that upholds the honour of Bengaluru,” he said, stressing that the KSCA would run the venue strictly within the framework of the law with proper crowd-control measures.

He then delivered the line RCB fans were waiting to hear. “We will not shift the IPL elsewhere and will continue to hold it here at Chinnaswamy Stadium. This is the pride of Bengaluru and Karnataka, which we will retain,” Shivamkumar said.

Looking beyond the immediate crisis, the deputy CM also revealed that the government plans to build a larger alternative stadium on the outskirts of the city in the future, with both venues envisaged as hosts for international and IPL cricket. He added that women’s cricket would be part of that roadmap, promising the state would ensure opportunities for women’s matches at Chinnaswamy as well.

For now, though, his assurance is clear: despite the worst tragedy in its history and the political heat that followed, Chinnaswamy remains at the centre of Karnataka’s cricket identity - RCB’s IPL future.