Bengaluru's Cricketing Shame: From Pride to Humiliation in the Women's ODI World Cup Hosting Saga

Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium loses Women’s World Cup matches after the June tragedy that killed 11 fans. ICC shifts fixtures to Navi Mumbai and Colombo, leaving Bengaluru humiliated on the global cricket stage.

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium once stood as a proud symbol of Bengaluru’s obsession with cricket. It was here that fans painted their faces red for RCB, where legends walked out to roaring applause, where a city that called itself India’s tech hub also declared itself a cricketing capital. Today, those floodlights will stay dim when the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 begins. The matches, including the grand finale, have been quietly taken away. For Bengaluru, this is more than a scheduling change—it is a public humiliation.

The Day Celebration Turned Into Mourning

Back in June, the city was on the edge of euphoria. Royal Challengers Bengaluru had finally broken their curse and lifted the IPL trophy after 18 years. The streets around Chinnaswamy swelled with people who wanted to be part of history. They carried flags, sang songs, and pressed against the gates for a glimpse of their heroes. But celebration turned into chaos. The crowd grew too thick, barriers collapsed, and panic swept through the gathering. By the end of the night, eleven fans were dead—some still in their teens—and dozens were injured. What should have been remembered as Bengaluru’s happiest cricketing day will now forever be marked as one of its darkest.

ICC’s Diplomatic Silence, But Local Embarrassment

The aftershocks have lingered. Investigations followed, and a judicial panel declared the stadium unsafe for large gatherings. The police, too, refused to allow major fixtures to return there. And now, the International Cricket Council has confirmed what many had feared: Bengaluru will not feature in the Women’s World Cup. Officially, the ICC spoke of “unforeseen circumstances.” Unofficially, the world knows this is a story of a city failing its own fans.

Navi Mumbai Steps In, Bengaluru Steps Out

Instead of Chinnaswamy, the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai will step in, hosting a semi-final and potentially the final. Guwahati, Indore, Visakhapatnam and Colombo will join it as hosts. The opening game between India and Sri Lanka, once slated for Bengaluru, will now be played in Assam. For Bengaluru, it is not just about losing matches. It is about losing trust, losing face, and losing the chance to be part of cricket’s global showcase.

The cruelest irony is that this World Cup could have been Bengaluru’s redemption. It could have been the moment the city showed it had learned from its mistakes, that it could keep passion safe, that cricket could heal the wounds of June. Instead, the stadium stands abandoned in the conversation, its empty stands echoing with memories of the night joy turned to mourning.

Elsewhere, the tournament will be remembered for new heroes, new rivalries, and new champions. In Bengaluru, it will be remembered for what might have been—a reminder that in cricket, as in life, glory can disappear in an instant, and once pride is lost on the world stage, it takes years to rebuild.