Kamal Ghorui
BENGALURU: Cricket is finally set to return to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The state cabinet on Thursday approved the resumption of matches following the recommendation of the government-appointed committee headed by Maheshwar Rao, chief of the Greater Bengaluru Authority. This comes after the conditional nod granted by the home department on January 17.The clearance paves the way for defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to host their Indian Premier League (IPL) matches at the venue. The Karnataka government had earlier barred the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) from staging games after the tragic stampede on June 4 last year outside the stadium during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations, which claimed 11 lives.
The IPL is expected to begin on March 26, and traditionally, the defending champions host both the opening ceremony and the first match of the season.“Keeping in mind the D’Cunha report and the recommendations of the government expert committee, the home department will issue a detailed order outlining the conditions and preparations KSCA must complete. The home minister will share the details shortly,” law minister HK Patil told reporters after the cabinet meeting.Earlier in the day, home minister G Parameshwara held a two-hour meeting with KSCA, RCB and government-appointed panel officials. It is learnt that the Rao-led committee expressed satisfaction with the progress made on safety, security and infrastructure upgrades at the stadium.The Justice D’Cunha committee, appointed to probe the tragedy, had recommended 17 safety measures within the stadium premises. These have been classified into short-term and long-term requirements, with March 15 set as the deadline for completion of the immediate measures.
