Karnataka government-appointed experts to conduct final Chinnaswamy inspection on March 13

An approval, which the KSCA expects to come through, will mean an official seal on the Bengaluru stadium to host IPL 2026 and other matches

Shashank Kishore

Published: Mar 12, 2026, 7:03 AM (4 hrs ago)

3:54

'A trial by fire for RCB'

An expert committee appointed by the government of Karnataka is scheduled to inspect the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 13 before giving its final approval for the venue to host IPL 2026 matches.

While approvals extended earlier this month for the conduct of all matches, including in the IPL, were "conditional", the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is confident there wouldn't be any hitches.

The KSCA has been renovating the stadium, including installing multiple new entry gates and widening several existing ones. The work covers upgrades to peripheral infrastructure, such as new walkways and creating a holding area near the old National Cricket Academy facility, as well new direct entry and exit routes for emergency services.

The KSCA had until March 15 to complete all points of the "short-term" overhaul as per the recommendations of the Justice D'Cunha Committee, which was put in place following the tragic stampede that led to 11 deaths during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL 2025 victory celebrations. After its appointment, the committee conducted a thorough safety and structural audit of the venue.

The stadium upgrades began in mid-December after the KSCA elections, where former India seamer Venkatesh Prasad was elected president. Prasad's committee has been in touch with government officials regarding several procedural aspects of the renovation. KSCA has also confirmed that all pending safety audit issues, which caused the electricity regulatory body in the state to cut off power supply to the venue last July, have been addressed.

Earlier this month, KSCA confirmed RCB's return to their home venue following weeks of negotiations with all stakeholders, including the state government. As part of the efforts to improve crowd control measures, the franchise and KSCA are in advanced talks with the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation as well. RCB will also go digital with QR code scanning of tickets for seamless entry - an additional measure to prevent overcrowding around the box office for redeeming online tickets for physical ones on match eve.

The opening game of the season pits RCB against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28 at the MC Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB will then host Chennai Super Kings on April 5. These are the only two home games in the first part of schedule announced by the IPL on Wednesday. RCB will play five home games in all at the venue, with two other home games to be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium in Raipur.

Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

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