Indian cricket star Virat Kohli is going to play for Delhi team in Vijay Hazare Trophy after 15 years. Fans were hopeful that they would see Kohli playing at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. But due to security reasons, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) shifted all the matches to BCCI Center of Excellence (COE) at the last moment. This postponed Kohli’s return to Chinnaswamy.
reason for relocation
In June 2025, during the celebration of RCB’s IPL victory, there was a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium, in which 11 people were killed. After this the stadium was considered unfit for big events.
The Karnataka government does not want any kind of chaos during the holiday season. Therefore, on Tuesday morning, the Home Ministry directed KSCA to hold all Vijay Hazare matches in the COE. Let us tell you, these matches will be held without spectators.
What was the earlier plan?
Initially Delhi’s matches were to be held in Aloor. But due to logistics and security problems due to the availability of Kohli and Rishabh Pant, KSCA shifted them to Chinnaswamy.
There was a plan to open two stands here and welcome 2000-3000 spectators. But the government rejected this proposal. Now Delhi’s first match will be against Andhra Pradesh on 24th December in COE.
impact on teams
This change was told to both the Delhi and Andhra Pradesh teams a day before the match. Now both the teams will practice in COE on Tuesday afternoon. Kohli and Pant have reached Bengaluru on Monday night. Pant is the captain of Delhi. Kohli may play only two matches because there is an ODI series against New Zealand in January.
Kohli’s homecoming
37 year old Kohli recently performed brilliantly in the Test series against South Africa. According to BCCI rules, players with central contracts are required to play domestic cricket. Rohit Sharma will also play in Vijay Hazare for Mumbai. This change is disappointing for the fans, but safety comes first.
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