Chinnaswamy to get its first major final [Source: AFP]The M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru could host its first domestic final in years as the iconic ground is in the race to host the upcoming Duleep Trophy final, slated to take place from September 6-10. Apart from Chinnaswamy, MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is also considered a venue for the marquee event.Originally scheduled to take place behind closed doors at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), the cricket board has considered hosting the final in front of a live audience and has picked two stadiums as front-runners, including Chinnaswamy.Devajit Saikia gave assurance to host Duleep Trophy final for public viewingRecently, the BCCI Secretary, Devajit Saikia, gave assurance that the Duleep Trophy final will be held in front of a live audience, and it seems the board is sticking to its words. Moreover, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has also expressed its willingness to host the Duleep Trophy final."There are some restrictions while this land was adopted here... that we cannot have a crowd in this campus. So, that is a government restriction. We cannot violate that," Saikia told select media at the BCCI CoE when asked about hosting Duleep Trophy in front of a live audience.However, Saikia also added that BCCI will consider hosting the final in a stadium if the logistics allow it."That is one way, and we will definitely appreciate your suggestions on whether the final can be hosted in a stadium or not. We still have time. We'll look into that aspect. If required, we'll do that," he said.Chinnaswamy to host first major final since the Bengaluru stampede after IPL 2025One of the most iconic grounds in India, the Chinnaswamy Stadium has hosted plenty of high-profile matches (both international, domestic, and IPL), but a careless situation after the IPL 2025 ruined Chinnaswamy’s reputation.Also Read: Duleep Trophy 2026 SquadsAfter RCB won their maiden IPL title in 2025, the team hosted a victory parade in Bengaluru, and celebrations took place inside the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, things turned bad when a massive surge of people (approximately 2,00,000) joined the celebration, resulting in a stampede which resulted in at least 11 deaths and more than 50 injuries.Since then, the venue was barred from hosting international and domestic matches, and RCB’s two home games were also shifted to Raipur ahead of IPL 2026.This would be the first time since the unfortunate event that the Chinnaswamy has been trusted to host a big match.Bengaluru set to get India’s 2nd-largest cricket stadiumEarlier this year, reports stated that Bengaluru is set to get India’s second-largest cricket stadium, with an approximate capacity of 80,000 people, and there is a reason behind the move.Chinnaswamy can currently host up to 32,000 people, and the stampede occurred due to the fact that more people turned up for the RCB celebration than the stadium capacity.The new stadium is set to reduce pressure on the Chinnaswamy Stadium and is also set to ease the pressure of growing crowd management.Hence, in order to host marquee international and IPL games, a new stadium has been approved, which would allow more people to attend the sporting spectacle.Also Read: Sri Lankan Great Breaks All-Time Record Vs India
