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Former India seamer Venkatesh Prasad has vowed to bring top-flight cricket back to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium if elected as president in the upcoming Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections slated for November 30.Prasad has teamed up with Sujith Somasunder, the former India and Karnataka opener, with the duo receiving a strong endorsement from two India stalwarts, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath. Vinay Mrutyunjaya, another former KSCA officer bearer, will contest for the secretary’s post.Both Prasad and Somasunder were earlier part of the KSCA administration when Kumble and Srinath had served as president and secretary. Prasad served as vice-president while Somasunder, who is currently head of education at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE), was part of the managing committee.Two other women cricketers are part of Prasad’s camp – former India Women captain Shantha Rangaswamy and V Kalpana. While Rangaswamy is ineligible to contest elections due to the age criteria, Kalpana is likely to be part of the committee in some capacity.Prasad will be contesting against KN Shanth Kumar, who has the backing of Brijesh Patel, the former India batter and veteran KSCA administrator. Kumar is a former board member of the Indian Golf Union, and represented India as a non-playing captain at the golf competition at the 2002 Asian Games.Related

• Venkatesh Prasad: 'Want to bring cricket back to Chinnaswamy'

“Karnataka cricket has been suffering and Venky is here to make a difference,” Kumble told reporters on Tuesday. “All the work we had put in during our three-year tenure [2010-2013] has been undone over the past many years. The most common question we get asked is ‘when are you returning?'”Two key stakeholders have been neglected: cricketers and fans. Last week we won the Women’s World Cup, and it was a landmark occasion. But we [Karnataka] didn’t have a single representation. That needs to change.”Kumble also touched upon the horrific stampede that claimed 11 lives outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory parade after winning IPL 2025. Describing June 4 as a “black mark, black day”, Kumble urged Prasad & co to ensure they do everything they can to “bring glory back to Karnataka” and the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which he likened to a “temple.”Prasad, meanwhile, underlined his panel’s readiness to hold constructive dialogue with the Karnataka government and other key stakeholders to bring back cricket to the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Only club games have been played at the venue, which recently lost out on the Women’s World Cup – including the final – due to the stand-off between there KSCA and the state government over the stampede row.The KSCA has also been in a tussle with the state government over power issues. Until earlier this month, BESCOM – the state’s electricity department – had cut off power to the entire facility due to non-compliance with fire safety norms. Recently, the KSCA submitted an undertaking of compliance, since which power has been restored.”We believe in having a proper dialogue with the government, and adhere to whatever the safety audit report has told us,” Prasad said. Somasundar added: “The stadium renovation work needs to be done in a phased manner, and is something we will take up on priority. We may not be able to increase the capacity, but we should certainly comply with safety norms and ensure cricket returns to one of India’s storied venues.”Another key area of focus, Prasad said, was the development of a full-fledged women’s academy at the same premises where the National Cricket Academy, now BCCI’s CoE, operated.

Northamptonshire coach Darren Lehmann has made a statement signing by luring Australia’s Nathan McSweeney to Wantage Road for the 2026 season. The deal covers all formats and the club expect McSweeney to be available “for the whole season” barring an international recall.Lehmann joined Northants last summer and took them to T20 Blast Finals Day for the first time since 2016, though they finished second-bottom of Division Two in the County Championship and won only once in the One-Day Cup. He signed an extension mid-season which means his contract now runs until the end of 2027, and has started to strengthen his squad for next year.Lehmann was an assistant coach when McSweeney captained Brisbane Heat to the BBL title in 2023-24, and presented him with his baggy green cap when he made his Test debut against India last year. McSweeney was harshly dropped after only three caps – four of his five dismissals were to an in-form Jasprit Bumrah – but has not featured for Australia since.McSweeney previously worked with Lehmann at Brisbane Heat•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

As a result, he should be available throughout the English summer. He will play alongside his South Australia team-mate Harry Conway for the first half of the Championship season, with Yuzvendra Chahal set to take over from Conway for the second half of the Championship and the One-Day Cup. Allrounder Louis Kimber has also joined from Leicestershire.”When the chance came up to sign with Northamptonshire, it was an easy decision,” McSweeney said. “The club has a strong culture and some quality players, and working with Boof again made it even more appealing. I’m eager to get over there, settle in, and help the team win games.”Lehmann said: “Nathan McSweeney is a brilliant player who has so much talent and potential. He’s a classy individual who will hopefully provide us with some stability in that top order. We can’t wait for him to arrive and hit the ground running.”

India refused to accept the Asia Cup trophy at the presentation ceremony, which was delayed by more than an hour after they beat Pakistan by five wickets in the final on Sunday in Dubai. They refused because the trophy was to be presented by Asian Cricket Council president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the PCB and the interior minister of Pakistan.”We have decided not to take the Asia Cup trophy from the ACC chairman, who happens to be one of the main [political] leaders of Pakistan,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI. “So we decided not to take it from him. But that does not mean that the gentleman will take away the trophy with him along with the medals. So it is very unfortunate and we hope that the trophy and the medals will be returned to India as soon as possible.”There is an ICC conference in November in Dubai. In the next conference, we are going to launch a very serious and very strong protest against the act of the ACC chairperson.”Related

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While the match ended at around 10.30pm Dubai time in a thrilling final-over finish, the wait for the presentation went on until close to midnight. It was not initially clear what the delay was down to, though speculation was that India did not want to receive the trophy from Naqvi. A statement on the organisation’s website on Saturday had said that Naqvi intended to hand over the trophy to the winners.Once the presentation ceremony began, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma received their individual awards from other dignitaries on stage, and Pakistan captain Salman Agha accepted the runners-up cheque, after which the ceremony came to an end.”I have been informed by the Asian Cricket Council that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight,” Simon Doull, the presenter for the host broadcaster, said at the ceremony. “So that does conclude the post-match presentation.”ACC president Mohsin Naqvi was there for the final•Associated Press

At the press conference after the ceremony, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said, “I think this is one thing which I have never seen since I started playing cricket, started following cricket, that a champion team is denied a trophy, that too a hard-earned one. I feel we deserved it. I can’t say anything more, I’ve summed it up really well. If you tell me about trophies, my trophies are sitting in the dressing room, all the 14 guys with me, the support staff, those are the real trophies throughout this journey in the Asia Cup.”Suryakumar said the team had taken the decision not to receive the trophy and that “no one told us to do it”.Once the game concluded, the Pakistan players walked off the ground into the dressing room while the Indian players stayed on the field. The stage for the presentation ceremony was not set for an extended period of time. In due course, Naqvi appeared, and spent a significant amount of time in animated discussions with officials on the ground while the crowd thinned out, though a large number of Indian spectators remained.After nearly an hour, the stage was set up and Naqvi and other dignitaries took their place. An official then removed the Asia Cup trophy from its place on a raised dais, and walked off the ground with it without explanation. The Pakistan team then emerged before the ceremony, conducted by Doull, commenced.A dejected Pakistan side after the loss in the final•AFP/Getty Images

The India players who received their individual awards did walk up to the stage where Naqvi stood, but did not acknowledge him, and received their awards from other officials. Naqvi did not applaud the India players who came up to receive their individual awards.The Pakistan players came up to receive their medals, with captain Agha accepting the cheque, which he posed with too. After the post-match interviews with Doull were concluded, the dignitaries left the stage. The India team and officials then took their place on the podium, where they celebrated their victory. With no actual trophy in sight, Suryakumar and the rest of the side held up an imaginary trophy as part of their celebrations.India’s stance to not accept a trophy from Naqvi was expected. They had refused to shake hands with the Pakistan team members in any of the three games they played this tournament, either at the toss or after the matches. While Pakistan coach Mike Hesson and captain Agha both criticised India for it, India’s position did not change.Things became heated, especially during the second game in the Super Fours stage, with several verbal spats between the sides. Suryakumar was fined for remarks he made following the first game, and Haris Rauf for his actions in the second.