Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 8 : Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad was elected as the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Sunday, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Sujith Somasunder, who played two ODIs for India in 1996 and was, until recently, head of education at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence, was elected vice-president of the KSCA.
Venkatesh Prasad won the election after the former Indian pacer recieved unanimous backing from Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, among others. Venkatesh defeated his rival, KN Shanth Kumar, by a 749-558 margin.
After winning the KSCA Presidential election, Prasad dedicated his victory to the people who wanted international cricket to return to Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
"First and foremost, this is a victory for the sport of cricket," Prasad said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. "Secondly, this is a victory for all the members who wanted a change, all the people who wanted international cricket to come back to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium."
Chinnaswamy Stadium hasn't hosted marquee matches since a stampede outside the ground that claimed 11 lives during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL victory celebration on June 4. BCCI also prefer to host the Duleep Trophy and 'A' series between India and South Africa at the Centre of Excellence.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium was scheduled to host five ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 games, including the final. However, the games had to be moved out after KSCA operated without a treasurer and a secretary, who had resigned on moral grounds following the stampede.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Venkatesh Prasad, who is the newly appointed President of KSCA, has instructed his team to study the findings of the Justice John Michael D'Cunha Commission, appointed by the Karnataka government in the aftermath of the stampede. In July, the commission stated in its report that the Stadium's design and structure were unsuitable and unsafe for large gatherings.
Venkatesh Prasad played 33 Test and 161 ODI games for India. The 56-year-old scalped 203 in Tests and 221 wickets in ODIs.