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Although the Karnataka government is lending conditional support, the Royal Challengers Bangalore has highlighted 'grey points.' The team is unwilling to play their home matches of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is undergoing renovation at the moment.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association president, Venkatesh Prasad, while addressing the media on Monday, said that despite elaborating on the steps taken to host the matches at the stadium, the Bengaluru franchise had some 'uneasiness' about playing matches in the city.

Prasad didn't explain RCB's apprehension, but the franchise released a statement that expressed their angst:

"While our desire is always to play at our home ground, in front of our ardent fans, we want to be thorough in our commitment to understand further the conditions applicable to host matches here and the measures taken to ensure fans' safety protocols are met." 

RCB appreciates the Karnataka government's decision to allow matches in the Chinnaswamy Stadium and also KSCA's efforts.

The team also added:

"From our preliminary conversations, there are still a few grey areas that need to be looked into, and we are considering these parameters and inputs from all stakeholders before arriving at a responsible decision for the team and our fans.”

Prasad stated that the ball was in the court of the franchise while asking the team to play their home matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium. It also hoped the team would engage with the government for a smooth conduct of the matches, just like the KSCA has over the past few weeks.

"So far, it has been only one-sided. It is also the responsibility of the RCB to take this dialogue forward and play here rather than take the game away from Bengaluru."

"They have grown to this level only because of having played in Bengaluru and the Bengaluru crowd. So, I have asked them to come and play here."

The officials of the KSCA held meetings with CM Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar, and the Home Minister G Parameshwara, who formed an Expert Committee under the Greater Bengaluru Authority chairman Maheshwar Rao to look into the execution of the Justice Michael D'Cunha panel's recommendations.

The panel of D'Cunha was given the task to look into the June 4 stampede that left 11 fans dead and several more injured during RCB's victory celebrations.

The state Home Department had permitted KSCA to host international and IPL matches at Chinnaswamy on Saturday, provided they met specific conditions in a time-bound manner.

Also read: IPL 2026: Chinnaswamy Stadium Front-Runner to Host RCB Home Games

The KSCA has started the renovation work at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to meet the specific conditions for the smooth conduct of the matches, as made by the Expert Committee.

The number of gates on the Queen's Road will be restricted to two, with each having a 6-meter width to ensure smooth movement of spectators in and out of the stadium and avoid traffic congestion.

Many already existing structures shall be flattened to create space to hold the crowd in the stadium premises. Also, ramps and lifts will be made to avoid crowding. The B ground, where the NCA was located, and the tennis court will also be utilised to hold the crowd during the match days.