The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSC) has been asked to shift all Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 games from Chinnaswamy Stadium to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE).
This includes the opener match of the tournament, played between Delhi and Andhra, involving Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, due to security reasons.
The decision to move the games is due to compliances issues at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium following the tragic stampede during the RCB title celebrations on June 04, which resulted in 11 deaths, the venue has been under intense scrutiny.
The KSCA were informed of the late development by Karnataka’s home ministry. This the second switch in venues in two weeks. The KSCA had earlier shifted at least matches involving Virat Kohli and Rishabh pant from Alur to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium due to logistical and security challenges.
Both teams – Delhi and Andhra have been apprised of this development ahead of their training session, which will now happen at CoE.
The KSCA which is in charge of logistics, have been asked to ensure all the matches across Bengaluru will be played behind closed doors.
The Bengaluru police have assured a strong security presence around the Aerospace Park, where CoE is located.
The CoE has previously hosted Duleep Trophy, Women’s World Cup warm-up fixtures and India A’s series against South Africa behind closed doors.
The KSCA had earlier expressed confidence in staging the matches involving Virat Kohli at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
They had hinted at the possibility of two stands thrown open to general public, which could’vs seated between 2000-3000 spectators if full.
The justice John Michael D’Cunha report labeled the stadium ‘highly unsafe’ for large gatherings. While the new KSCA management under Venkatesh Prasad has been working to address these concerns, a government committee inspection on Monday did not give the go ahead for the venue to resume hosting matches.
All the Vijay Hazare matches in Bengaluru will be conducted without spectators, with the state government particularly wary of any potential chaos during the holiday season.
Meanwhile, the Bengaluru police has guaranteed a heave specific presence around the Areospace Park area.
Comments are closed.