In what could be a major blow to Bengaluru, the M Chinnaswamy stadium is at risk of losing the Women's ODI World Cup matches, ESPNCricinfo reported. The Women's World Cup returns to India after 2013 with Sri Lanka hosting a few matches as part of the hybrid agreement due to the strained relations between India and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is at risk of losing all of its World Cup matches after the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) missed to get the police approvals to host the matches in the city by the deadline of August 10. Notably, Thiruvananthapuram's Greenfields Stadium is likely to host those games if Bengaluru is stripped off its games.
Currently, the Thiruvananthapuram-based venue is hosting the second season of the Kerala Cricket League from August 21 to September 7.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium, for now, is scheduled to host four matches in the eight-team tournament with a possibility of the fifth one too. Those games include the opener between India and Sri Lanka on September 30, the clash between England and South Africa on October 3, the India vs Bangladesh fixture on October 26, the second semifinal on October 30 and possibly the final on November 2 if Pakistan do not make it to the summit clash.
Apart from these fixtures, the city is also scheduled to host two warm-up matches on September 25 and 27 with India facing England and New Zealand in those two fixtures.
According to the ICC guidelines, the organisers need to receive a venue a month before the tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) need to take the decision within a week.
According to the police commissioner's office, as stated in the report, the Karnataka cricket body had not received clearance for hosting matches at the venue till Monday, the day that marked the 50-day countdown from the tournament.
Last month, the Chinnaswamy Stadium was deemed unsuitable and unsafe for large-scale events by a committe tasked to investigate the stampede that had killed 11 people in the aftermath of RCB's maiden title win.
