Thiruvananthapuram likely to step in for Bengaluru at Women's World Cup
Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) president K Jayesh confirmed that discussions are ongoing with the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding this. He said ICC chairman Jay Shah asked him in Mumbai on Monday if they could take over as the host. "We assured him that Thiruvananthapuram is ready to host the Women's World Cup matches. We have the necessary infrastructure," he said.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was awarded four matches — including the final, provided Pakistan did not qualify — when the ICC announced the official tournament itinerary.
However, the plans came unstuck after the deadly stampede outside the stadium on June 4, during the Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL victory celebrations, claimed 11 lives.
In the aftermath, the Karnataka govt reportedly withdrew permission to host any match at the venue.
The decision followed the findings of a govt-commissioned probe led by Justice John Michael D'Cunha, which declared the stadium "fundamentally unsafe" for large-scale events, citing design flaws, poor crowd management infrastructure, limited entry and exit points, inadequate public transport access and insufficient parking.
The fallout has already affected other events.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium was recently denied permission to host the KSCA Maharaja T20 Trophy, which has now been shifted to Mysuru's Srikantadatta Narasimha Raja Wadeyar ground.
While an official confirmation from the ICC is still pending, the KCA remains optimistic. "It's not yet confirmed how many matches we will host. We are waiting for the ICC's nod and several logistical challenges still need to be addressed," Jayesh said.
Thiruvananthapuram's Greenfield Stadium, the only international-standard cricket venue in Kerala, last hosted an international match during the India vs Sri Lanka ODI in 2023. It is now poised to save the marquee women's cricket tournament from organisational chaos.
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