Women's World Cup 2025: Bengaluru games shifted after horrific stadium stampede incident
All of Bengaluru's games have been shifted to Mumbai.
3 Min Read
Bengaluru's iconic M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has lost its hosting rights for the mega ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. Five matches originally scheduled at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, including the tournament opener and a possible semi-final, have now been moved to Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium. The decision comes following the aftermath of the horrific stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL 2025 victory celebrations in June, which claimed 11 lives and left over 50 injured.
The June 4 tragedy outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium triggered turmoil in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). Thousands of fans had gathered to celebrate RCB’s maiden IPL title, but mismanagement of the crowd led to chaos, resulting in deaths and dozens of injuries. The incident sparked outrage across the state, with the government holding both KSCA and the franchise responsible.
Women's World Cup 2025: India Women squad announced
Post the disaster, the venue was declared unsafe for large gatherings by a state-appointed committee. Police permissions for hosting major events at the stadium have since been denied. Even KSCA’s proposal to stage tournaments behind closed doors was rejected. Subsequently, the Maharaja T20 League had to be shifted out of Bengaluru to Mysuru, further underlining the government’s tough stance.
Indian team announces 15-member squad for World Cup
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had initially granted KSCA multiple extensions to secure approvals from the police and local authorities. However, repeated failures forced the BCCI and International Cricket Council (ICC) to make a big decision. On August 22, the ICC officially announced the shift of all Bengaluru fixtures to Navi Mumbai, with participating teams informed of the changes.
Notably, Mumbai now joins Indore, Visakhapatnam, and Guwahati as the Indian host cities, alongside Colombo, which will stage all Pakistan matches as well as one semi-final and potentially the final, if Women in Green qualify.
The revised schedule is expected to be released soon, though the tournament dates, from September 30 to November 2, are unchanged. Bengaluru was originally allotted big fixtures, including India’s opening clash and a knockout game, which will now take place in Navi Mumbai.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium, once a regular host for international matches and IPL fixtures, has not hosted any big game since the June stampede. Issues with fire safety compliance, regulatory clearances, and power supply have led to questions being asked about KSCA’s credibility.
Meanwhile, there are growing concerns about whether the city will be able to host the men’s T20 World Cup matches next year or future IPL games if corrective measures are not quickly implemented. Furthermore, the Indian team revealed their 15-member squad on 19th August, with Harmanpreet Kaur set to lead the side.
India's World Cup squad
Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh, Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, N Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Sneh Rana
Standbys: Tejal Hasabnis, Prema Rawat, Priya Mishra, Uma Chetry (wk), Minnu Mani, Sayali Satghare
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