Venkatesh Prasad to contest elections in major KSCA overhaul

Published - 15 Aug 2025, 21:55 IST | Updated - 15 Aug 2025, 22:11 IST

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad is set to contest the upcoming Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections, tentatively scheduled between October and November. Prasad brings extensive experience as a coach, selector, and administrator, having served as KSCA vice-president from 2013 to 2016 during Anil Kumble’s tenure as president. Since then, he has largely stayed away from administration to focus on his coaching career, while also working as a media pundit and commentator.

The 56-year-old has previously been a bowling coach during the 2006–07 season and was part of the coaching staff of Punjab Kings, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab. He will have veteran administrator Vinay Mruthyunjaya alongside him.

Mruthyunjaya is a former KSCA treasurer and a member of the BCCI Finance Committee. The duo of Prasad and Mruthyunjaya is expected to announce their full panel in the coming days. The term of the incumbent regime of the state association, headed by Raghuram Bhatt, is set to end on September 30.

The current set of officials is under scrutiny following a tragic stampede near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 victory celebrations, which claimed 11 lives. The association secretary Shankar A and treasurer ES Jairam resigned, taking moral responsibility, after the state cabinet cleared criminal proceedings against association officials, top RCB personnel, and the event management firm DNA.

Legal proceedings are ongoing following the submission of the Justice D’Cunha Commission’s findings to the government and the state High Court. With the secretary and treasurer posts currently vacant, Mruthyunjaya could potentially return to the role if all goes according to plan.

It is also worth noting that former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who previously also served as the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly as well as captained Prasad, is expected to re-enter administration as he is likely to file his nomination for the president’s post in the upcoming Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) elections.