ICC Women's World Cup 2025: Bengaluru Matches in Serious Danger

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is around the corner, and the preparations are in full flow for that. The tournament will begin on September 30 and will be played in India and Sri Lanka, where the Pakistan Women's Cricket Team will play their games.

The Women’s World Cup 2025 will be played across four venues in India in Bengaluru, Vizag, Indore, and Guwahati. Colombo will be hosting games that are scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka. India are the original hosts of the tournament but Pakistan will play in Colombo as per the agreement between the BCCI and the PCB.

One of the prime venues in India that will be hosting the tournament is the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The venue has been awarded four games in the tournament, including the semi-final and most likely the final. But the summit clash, which is scheduled on 2nd November, will be played here only if Pakistan fails to qualify for it; else it will be played in Colombo.

Will Bengaluru Host Women World Cup 2025?

A fresh set of reports has claimed something different. If that is true, then there will be no games taking place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. As per the reports in Cricbuzz, it is learned that games of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 are likely to be moved out of Bengaluru.

The reports added that the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is yet to obtain permission from the state government for the games. This comes after the tragic stampede incident due to Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory celebration after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. IPL is probably the best cricket league in the world and RCB's win took it to another level.

As many as 11 people lost their lives, and since then, the KSCA has come under massive scrutiny. They aren't allowing games to be played at M Chinnaswamy, and also recently shifted the Maharaja Cup T20 tournament from Bengaluru to Mysuru. RCB are one of the best teams in IPL and thus, attracted a huge fan following after their IPL 2025 win.

KSCA Awaiting Government Confirmation

The report in Cricbuzz confirmed that the KSCA is still awaiting confirmation from the government. An official revealed about the challenges to host the tournament in Bengaluru in the aftermath of stampede outside the stadium after IPL 2025.

“The uncertainty is in view of the tragic stampede in June when 11 fans died as Royal Challengers Bengaluru were celebrating their IPL success. The matter has since gone to the courts, and the state government has not yet given permission for the matches. The KSCA has shifted the Maharaja Cup T20 tournament from the city to Mysuru and is awaiting a nod on the Women’s World Cup," a senior KSCA official said.

“We’ve written to the State Government and are awaiting a response. It’s not as if they’ve denied permission. If that were the policy, they wouldn’t have allowed the Maharaja Cup in Mysuru. So, we’re waiting. There is some more time for this, and we’re going step by step,” the official added.

As per the original schedule of the ICC Women World Cup 2025, M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will host the tournament opener between India and Sri Lanka. After that, the game between England and South Africa on October 4 is also slated to take place here.

Then, the last league match of the tournament between India and Bangladesh on 26th October, followed by the second semi-final on 30th October, will be played here as well. If the reports of games moving out of Bengaluru emerge to be true, then it will be a massive blow for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC).

To shift the games to some other venue will be a massive headache for them. The BCCI, ICC and the KSCA will be hoping that the Karnataka State government gives them the green signal so that the tournament runs smoothly.