The Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) president Venkatesh Prasad on Wednesday (January 21) said the ball is now in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) court to decide to play at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Also read: RCB non-committal about playing in Bengaluru

After a stampede killed 11 people last year following RCB’s IPL 2025 celebrations at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, IPL and international matches were banned at the venue.

Also read: Chinnaswamy Stadium gets govt nod to host IPL 2026, international matches

However, recently, the Karnataka state government gave permission for the Chinnaswamy Stadium to resume matches.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, KSCA officials said RCB has to engage with the state government to play their IPL 2026 home matches in Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“The ball is in RCB’s court… I also hope that RCB gets involved and engages with the government for the smooth conduct of matches. So far, it has been one-sided,” Prasad said.

“It’s their responsibility to come back here and play, and not to take the game away from Bangalore.

Prasad informed that the stadium will be ready with the changes suggested by the government, and hoped to get the “unconditional” letter from the government. He also prayed and hoped that RCB would play at the venue again.

“I sincerely hope and pray that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru play all their home matches, including the opening match, here. We are confident we are going to complete the job by the end of February to get the unconditional letter from the Govt of Karnataka,” he said.