Kumble Honored as Karnataka Greenlights Cricket's Return to Iconic Chinnaswamy

The KSCA honoured Anil Kumble, alongside his former teammate Rahul Dravid and former India women's cricketer Shantha Rangaswamy, by naming stands after them at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, as the venue celebrated 50 years as an international cricket venue.

Speaking to ANI, Kumble said that he is grateful to the KSCA, led by President Venkatesh Prasad, for the honour.

"It is indeed a great honour. I am really, truly grateful for the KSCA and Venkatesh Prasad and his committee for giving me this honour. I'm really humbled. It's wonderful to have it alongside my teammate Rahul Dravid, he richly deserves it, and also Shantha Rangaswamy, whose contribution to Indian women's cricket is well-known," he said.

Kumble welcomed the Karnataka government's approval for KSCA to host matches at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, calling it an iconic venue. He acknowledged last year's tragic incident but expressed relief that necessary safety measures have been taken by the KSCA.

"It's good to know that the Government of Karnataka has given permission to the KSCA to conduct matches, because this is truly an iconic stadium and fans should come and enjoy. Yes, it was an unfortunate incident that happened last year, but I think it's important that matches do take place. I'm happy that the KSCA has taken whatever measures were asked of it, and I'm really glad that cricket is finally coming back."

Notably, Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy said on Friday that the state cabinet has approved KSCA to host Indian Premier League matches. The decision comes after cricket at M Chinnaswamy Stadium had been suspended since June last year, following a stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL title celebration that left 11 people dead and several others injured.

Earlier, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had chaired a meeting with the KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad, the KSCA Secretary and others at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday to discuss the organisation of cricket tournaments at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The session was also attended by Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department Tushar Girinath, State DGP M A Salim, GBA Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, Home Department Secretary KV Sarathchandra, Bangalore City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad, KSCA Secretary and the Indian Premier League's (IPL) Bengaluru-based franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) office bearers.

After the meeting, KSCA President Venkatesh Prasad had said they were awaiting the Cabinet decision on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, describing the outcome as "extremely positive" and thanking Home Minister G Parameshwara for forming the committee.

- ANI