Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad defeated K.N. Shanth Kumar, Director of The Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Limited, 749-558 to emerge as the new Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president here on Sunday.
It was a successful run for Prasad’s ‘Team Game Changers’, which bagged four of the five key office-bearer posts.
Former India batter Sujith Somasundar (Vice President), Santosh Menon (Secretary) and B.N. Madhukar (Treasurer) claimed victories for ‘Team Game Changers’.
B.K. Ravi edged out A.V. Shashidara 669-638 in the Joint Secretary race. Ravi emerged as the lone person from Shanth’s ‘Team Brijesh’ camp to claim an office-bearer spot.
When the results were announced on Sunday night, Prasad and team celebrated enthusiastically, bringing an end to a keenly fought election. Former India captain Anil Kumble was among the first persons to congratulate Prasad.
Among the pressing challenges for ‘Team Game Changers’ is the state of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has not hosted an international match since the stampede which claimed 11 lives earlier this year.
Prasad promised to do his bit to restore the glory of the iconic stadium. “First and foremost, this is a victory for the sport of cricket. Secondly, this is a victory for all the members who wanted a change, all the people who wanted international cricket to come back to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. This is a victory for all stakeholders – the cricket fans,” Prasad said.
An emotional Santosh stated that the election result was a “victory for truth and fairness”. Voting began in earnest on Sunday morning, with a total turnout of 1,307 voters. Kumble, former India captain Rahul Dravid and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar were among the voters.
After casting his vote, Shivakumar dismissed suggestions that IPL 2026 matches will be shifted out of Bengaluru.
“I will not allow shifting of IPL matches from here; we will ensure they are held here in Bengaluru. This is a question of Bengaluru and Karnataka’s pride,” Shivakumar said.
The election results:
President: Venkatesh Prasad bt KN Shanth Kumar 749-558
Vice President: Sujith Somasundar bt Vinod Sivappa 719-588
Secreary: Santon Menone Menon 675-63-632
Jt. Secretary: B.K. Ravi bt A.V. Shashidara 669-638
Treasurer: BN Madhukar bt MS Vinay 736-571
Life members:
1) VM Manjunath (690 votes)
2) Sailesh Poll (618)
Zones –
Bangalore:
1) Kalpana Venkatachar (764)
2) Ashish Amarlall (703)
3) Avinash Vaidya (691)
Mysore: Srinivas Prasad (746)
Shivamogga: DS Arun (722)
Tumkur: CR Harish (734)
Dharwad: Veeranna Savadi (825)
Raichur: Kushal Patil Gadgi (704)
Mangalore: Shekar Shetty (unopposed)
Published on Dec 07, 2025
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