The stage was set for Virat Kohli‘s return to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as the experienced India batter was ready to turn up for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, on the eve of Delhi’s opening match against Andhra, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has been forced to shift all the premier 50-over tournament matches from the venue to the BCCI Centre of Excellence due to security reasons. According to ESPNcricinfo, the KSCA were informed about this last-minute development on Tuesday morning by Karnataka’s home ministry.
Both the Delhi and Andhra teams have been informed of this development ahead of their training sessions. The two sides will now be training at the CoE later on Tuesday afternoon.
This is the second time in two weeks that the venue in Bengaluru has switched. The KSCA had earlier shifted at least two matches involving Kohli and Rishabh Pant from Alur to the M Chinnaswamy due to logistical and security reasons.
The Karnataka association has also been asked to ensure that all the matches in Bengaluru are played behind closed doors. Hence, fans would not be able to witness Kohli up close and personal at the CoE. The Bengaluru police are already taking care of security around the Aerospace Park, where the CoE is located.
It is worth mentioning that the CoE earlier hosted the Duleep Trophy, Women’s World Cup warm-up matches and India A’ s series against South Africa. For all these games, fans were not allowed to enter the premises.
Chinnaswamy plans fail
Earlier, the KSCA expressed confidence in staging matches featuring Kohli and Pant at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. They even wanted to have two stands open to the general public, which could have seated between 2,000 and 3,000 if allowed to operate at full capacity.
However, this proposal was met with strong opposition from the government, as reported by ESPNCricinfo. The report stated that the decision makers didn’t want chaos around the stadium during the holiday season.
It is worth mentioning that Kohli will be playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for the first time in 15 years, with his last appearance having been in 2010. The 37-year-old was recently adjudged as Player of the Series against South Africa after scoring two centuries and one unbeaten fifty.
The BCCI has already issued a diktat to all centrally contracted players, asking them to play in at least two rounds of the Vijay Hazare Trophy before the commencement of the three-match ODI series between India and New Zealand, beginning January 11.
Rohit Sharma is also expected to play in Mumbai’s opening VHT match against Sikkim at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday, December 24.
