New Delhi, Dec 23 All Vijay Hazare Trophy matches that were set to take place at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium have been relocated to the BCCI Centre of Excellence, due to a directive from the Karnataka government citing security issues.
"All Vijay Hazare Trophy matches scheduled to be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will now happen at the BCCI CoE. It’s a decision which was taken earlier in the day due to security reasons, as said by the state government," a DDCA official told IANS on Tuesday.
The official further said that both participating teams for the opening game had been notified, and their pre-match training session is now set to take place at the BCCI CoE. "The Delhi team has been told about it and their pre-match practice against Andhra will now happen at CoE," the official added.
Meanwhile, all the Vijay Hazare matches in Bengaluru will be held without spectators. The Bengaluru police have assured a strong security presence around the Aerospace Park, where CoE is located.
Karnataka Police have refused permission for the Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Delhi and Andhra Pradesh at Chinnaswamy Stadium, citing serious safety and crowd-control concerns.
The decision was taken after a thorough inspection by Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar, officials from the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and the Fire Department, who identified critical gaps in venue infrastructure and emergency preparedness.
On Monday, a committee constituted by the Karnataka government, comprising officials from the police, public works and fire safety departments, inspected the Chinnaswamy Stadium and submitted a report.
The Bengaluru City Police Commissioner had already issued a 17-point advisory outlining mandatory safety measures. The committee verified whether these points had been complied with and submitted its findings to the government.
"The committee had gone to the stadium on Monday, on the instructions of the Home Department. Officers from various departments, including fire, Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and police, had inspected the stadium. As per the report from the officers, permission has not been granted for the match on Wednesday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The committee has also given a detailed report," Commissioner Singh stated.
The KSCA had earlier expressed confidence in staging matches featuring Kohli and Pant at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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