Kamal Ghorui
The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Tuesday responded to the BCCI’s decision to move the IPL 2026 playoffs and final from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad, expressing disappointment over the decision while insisting that the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was fully prepared to stage the marquee fixtures.In an official clarification note issued hours after the BCCI confirmed Ahmedabad as the venue for the IPL 2026 final, KSCA said it had formally conveyed its ‘preparedness, willingness and keen interest’ in hosting the said fixtures.
“At the outset, KSCA expresses its disappointment that the IPL Playoff matches have been allotted to other centres,” the statement read.The association also revealed that KSCA president and former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad had personally been in touch with the BCCI regarding Bengaluru’s hosting rights.“KSCA President and legendary Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad was personally in touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in this regard and had also formally conveyed KSCA’s preparedness, willingness, and keen interest in hosting the IPL Playoffs at the iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium,” the statement added.The clarification comes after the BCCI, in its official playoff schedule announcement earlier in the day, confirmed that the IPL 2026 final had been shifted from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad owing to ‘certain operational and logistical considerations’.“Bengaluru was originally designated to host the Final. However, owing to certain requirements from the local association and authorities that were beyond the scope of BCCI’s established guidelines and protocols, the venue has been shifted and reassigned,” BCCI honorary secretary Devajit Saikia had said in the media advisory.While the BCCI did not elaborate on those requirements, KSCA strongly defended its operational track record and suggested that the arrangements followed this season were no different from previous years.“The IPL matches conducted in Bengaluru during the current season were widely appreciated for their smooth execution, crowd management, operational efficiency, and overall spectator experience,” KSCA said.The association further clarified that it had already sent a detailed communication to the BCCI explaining the operational framework under which IPL matches were conducted in Bengaluru.“Most of these arrangements and protocols have been consistently followed since the inception of the IPL in 2008 and were implemented uniformly during the current season as well, including during earlier playoff matches hosted at Bengaluru,” the statement read.
‘No Specific Reasons for Shift Communicated’
Importantly, KSCA also stated that the ‘specific reasons’ behind the shift had not been formally conveyed to them by the BCCI.“While the specific reasons for the same have not been formally communicated to KSCA, we fully respect the prerogative and decision-making authority of the BCCI in this regard,” it added.The development has triggered significant discussion given that defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru were initially expected to host the IPL final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Instead, Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will now host the IPL final for the fourth time in five seasons, having also staged the summit clash in 2022, 2023 and 2025.As reported by timesofindia.com earlier today, it is understood that the ongoing administrative mess regarding the tickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium forced the board to shift the title clash back to the venue that hosted the 2025 edition’s final.
