Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requests KSCA to name stands after 1974 Ranji stalwarts
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to name stands in the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after players who featured in Karnataka’s first Ranji Trophy title win in 1974.
In a letter addressed to former India cricketer and KSCA Hon. President Raghuram Bhat, Siddaramaiah found merit in honouring three stalwarts from that side — G.R. Viswanath, E.A.S. Prasanna and B.S. Chandrasekhar.
Siddaramaiah wrote the letter in response to a request from historian and writer Ramachandra Guha. In the letter, Guha asked the Chief Minister to urge KSCA to take action on this matter.
“He (Guha) has stated that there are repeated requests from fans to honour the three great stars of the 1974 victory: the batsman G.R.Viswanath and spin twins E.A.S. Prasanna and B.S. Chandrasekhar.
He has further stated that in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and other places, the main cricket stadiums have stands named after the great players from that city or State, and yet there are no stands in Bengaluru named after G.R. Viswanath, E.A.S Prasanna and B.S. Chandrasekhar.
I think the request of Sri Ramachandra Guha has a lot of merit in it. l request you to consider naming the stands after Sri G.R. Viswanath, Sri E.A.S. Prasanna and B.S. Chandrasekhar, which will inspire and encourage the upcoming cricketers of the State,” Siddaramaiah said.
In an event hosted by ACT Fibernet at KSLTA here last month, former India and Mumbai captain Sunil Gavaskar had also called on the KSCA to name stands in the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in honour of the players.