Bengaluru fans unhappy with RCB chatter: Venkatesh Prasad

New Delhi: Former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad is contesting the upcoming Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) polls with his sheet 'Team Game Changers'. In an exclusive enactment with TimesofIndia.com, Prasad opens up connected the challenges, bringing planetary cricket backmost to Chinnaswamy Stadium and chatter astir RCB's movement.

Without naming the seasoned administrator, the erstwhile bowler accused Brijesh Patel for compromising the sanctity of the cricket assemblage by "controlling from behind". Excerpts:Throwing your chapeau successful the administrative ringing aft much than a decade. What triggered the move?Well, I felt idiosyncratic had to, you know, rise their manus up and say, yeah, I mean, look, immoderate has been happening successful the past accidental astir 10 years, particularly successful the past 3 years, immoderate has happened successful Karnataka is decidedly not transparent, injustice to cricketers, to the members of the association.

And thing has gone good for the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has been an iconic stadium. So, you know, there's truthful galore things that person happened successful the past six months.

And I deliberation it was precocious clip that idiosyncratic had to enactment up their manus and say, yes, look, I'm going to beryllium there. I'm going to instrumentality the responsibility. I'm going to, you know, marque definite that these benignant of, you know, inexcusable mistakes should not hap again. And not conscionable astir that.

I'm not conscionable talking astir the stampede. I'm besides talking astir the cricket operation arsenic such. A batch of things person gone against the game, against the system. So, I'm present to benignant of instrumentality the responsibility. There are radical who are manipulating the bylaws of the cricket assemblage to suit their involvement and each that isn't bully for the game.You person named your sheet 'Team Game Changers'...I've got a large team. Great squad of, you know, with erstwhile planetary cricketers.

Cricketers of repute and bully administrators and highly well-qualified professionals successful my team. So, I deliberation it was clip that somebody, you know, took up the work and besides ended the 25-year regularisation of 1 azygous idiosyncratic who had power of the association. You know, and it was conscionable 1 idiosyncratic who was trying to control, who was trying to enactment up a batch of, you know, benignant of radical who would perceive to him.

And obviously, that's what it is each about. So, I deliberation this is… And it's not conscionable astir that.

It is besides astir the idiosyncratic with commercialized interests, you know. So, definitely, we volition beryllium looking into those commercialized interests of related parties to safeguard and guarantee the sanctity of KSCA. We volition enactment an extremity to specified practises and that's the crushed that I had taken up this responsibility. I don't privation to sanction that person. And I'm definite radical wrong the association, the members, I'm definite they cognize astir it. So, this is what it is each about.Well we each cognize who the idiosyncratic is. It's the KSCA strongman Brijesh Patel. There are immoderate superior allegations of struggle of involvement too...We volition beryllium looking into a batch of things (if we travel to power). Definitely, arsenic I said earlier, the sanctity of KSCA is paramount present and lone clip volition tell. So, we are going to marque it nationalist astatine immoderate constituent of time. As I said, I don't privation to sanction the person. There is simply a batch of backseat driving that has been happening implicit a decennary oregon more.

You know, arsenic I said, 25 years and fractional of that, the idiosyncratic was successful the medication and the 2nd fractional of it, helium was controlling from behind.

So, yeah, I mean, that's what it is. So, yeah, lone clip volition archer for sure.

This deep-rooted occupation of Indian cricket being tally by proxy holders, truthful to say, and it is rampant successful each authorities relation now. Do you deliberation that's the larger contented that radical are inactive remote-controlling a peculiar authorities relation and ne'er allowing a beardown absorption to beryllium successful play?Exactly. I mean, you can't tally an relation with proxies.

You can't tally an relation from the courthouse oregon the footsteps of the court. You know, truthful I deliberation arsenic of now, that is what has been happening. And I deliberation it's not conscionable about, you know, the proxies oregon the puppets moving the relation wherever they've been controlled from behind. It's not conscionable astir that. It's besides astir enactment issues. Selections are happening successful a wholly antithetic spot altogether.

And selections are happening based connected who is playing for a fewer clubs.

And the opportunities person not been fixed to the talented, the capable cricketers. And not lone that, determination is nary due operation astatine all. They don't person grounds.They've mislaid astir of the grounds that Mr. Kumble and Mr. Srinath had developed, you know, during their word from 2010 to 2013. And adjacent I was the vice president arsenic well. So, a batch of grounds has been lost. A batch of mendacious promises person been made to a batch of people, you know. And not conscionable the crushed authorities, a batch of mendacious promises person been made to the members of KSC arsenic well.

And thing has been executed oregon fulfilled. And the members are extremely, highly unhappy and disappointed with the mode things are going successful the association.

And they person not been treated with respect. And, you know, astir of them are successful their 80s. Late 70s oregon possibly aboriginal 80s. And immoderate of them I person spoken to who are 90, 91. And they are highly upset. And they person each said to maine that they are truly backing maine and my team.So, it is similar however successful 1983, erstwhile Kapil Dev lifted the trophy, helium changed the scenery of cricket successful India. You know, so, that benignant of thing. So, that's precisely what is going to hap arsenic acold arsenic women's cricket is concerned. And we person a women cricketer amongst america contesting. And she is going to instrumentality attraction of women's cricket. And we person got a program for each azygous thing. For the members, for the stakeholders, you know, the fans, the cricket fans.

You know, so, we person got large ideas. And, yeah, we would decidedly similar to instrumentality it and execute it.

Coming to cricket infrastructure, the tier-3 centres, particularly successful Hubli and Mysore are a implicit messiness close now.It is simply a large mess, nary uncertainty astir it. And much than 80 crores person gone down the drain. That is the benignant of magnitude that our committee from 2010-13 had invested successful Shimoga. We person got six zones, conscionable to springiness you a representation of that. We person got six zones, Shimoga, Tumkur, Dharwad, past Raichur, past Mysore. So, similar that. And we developed a batch of infrastructure there.

We developed grounds there. And the grounds are successful a mess. The infrastructure has not been taken attraction of.

It is successful a dilapidated condition. You cannot adjacent spell successful there. And we had organised academies successful zones. In Mapuzhal centres, we had organised academies. And now, it is defunct. So, wherever is the endowment going to come? Where are we going to get different Javagal Srinath? Or an Avinash Vaidya? Or a Sunil Joshi? Or

Vinay Kumar

? You know, they person each travel from Mapuzhal areas.So, erstwhile determination are nary academies, erstwhile the grounds person been not maintained, and erstwhile 80 crores of rupees that has been spent connected it is each gone connected the drain, it is nationalist money. So, what is happening? So, who is taking decisions? And successful the past six months, the radical who were expected to instrumentality decisions, they resigned connected motivation grounds aft the stampede. And 1 of them who resigned, the past treasurer, who resigned, you know, present successful 4 months, helium is contesting this predetermination for the station of secretary.

So, wherever is the morality? Don't they person immoderate conscience? There is perfectly nary accountability, nary credibility. I mean, the KSA has mislaid each its credibility of late. Women's World Cup matches person been taken retired of the stadium. And for the upcoming T20 World Cup, Men's T20 World Cup, KSCA is not the venue. So, determination are talks astir the IPL going distant from Bengaluru. And definitely, the Bengaluru fans don't similar it.

The existent Chinnaswamy situation... If you are chosen to power, however bash you program to code it?The Bangalore franchise has Chinnaswamy Stadium arsenic their base.

And it's been similar that for the past 18 years. And I don't deliberation immoderate franchise tin boast of specified fans similar the Chinnaswamy Stadium. So now, determination is simply a immense challenge. Yes. You know, we person to physique a bully narration with the authorities officials. First off, the infinitesimal we presume the office, you know, I'm conscionable saying, elections are happening the time after. And hoping that we get the majority.

And if we get to presume the office, past evidently the archetypal happening that we person to beryllium doing is to speech to the authorities officials to get the indispensable approvals for immoderate small changes that we tin bash for the stadium.And past simultaneously, we got to be, you know, going to conscionable the BCCI officials arsenic well. And requesting for them for a mates of matches to beryllium played present successful Chinnaswamy Stadium. Especially the upcoming World Cup. And the T20 World Cup. And of course, aft that is the IPL matches. And members person been complaining, you know, each azygous time astir the clubhouses and the hygiene portion of, you know, everything is gone. Everything is gone down the drain, basically.

You know, arsenic I said, it's successful a dilapidated condition. And radical are, the members are trying to permission this place. They don't privation to travel backmost to Chinnaswamy Stadium. So, I mean, there's a batch of issues that person been going on. So, we got to beryllium addressing rather a batch of issues. It's precise hard for maine to truly prioritise. But obviously, cricket is the astir important thing. Even if I person to instrumentality pridefulness successful saying that I americium a beingness subordinate of Chinnaswamy Stadium. For that, we request to get the planetary matches, you know, backmost to Chinnaswamy Stadium arsenic soon arsenic possible.