The much-hyped return of cricket superstar Virat Kohli to Bengaluru's iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium has been abruptly postponed. The Bengaluru city police on Tuesday refused to grant permission to host the Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Delhi and Andhra at the venue, forcing a last-minute change in plans.
Why Police Said No to Chinnaswamy
This decision came after a high-level committee inspection on Monday. The panel, led by Greater Bengaluru Authority commissioner Maheshwar Rao, included the city police commissioner and officials from public works, fire services, and health departments. They thoroughly assessed the stadium's readiness.
Confirming the development, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh stated that the committee found the facilities inadequate for hosting matches. "The committee inspected the stadium and concluded that there are no proper facilities to conduct matches. A decision on allowing matches will be made only after the required work is completed. For now, KSCA’s request to conduct matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium has been rejected," Singh said.
The inspection also covered the implementation of the 17 recommendations from the Justice John Michael Cunha Commission report. Furthermore, significant security concerns were a factor, with police resources already stretched thin managing the upcoming Christmas festivities in the city's Central Business District, especially around the date of the scheduled December 24 match.
Backup Plan Activated: Matches Move to Centre of Excellence
Anticipating potential issues, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had already identified a backup venue on Monday itself. Consequently, the two Delhi team matches—against Andhra and Gujarat—have been shifted to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
The CoE premises house three grounds, and the matches will be played on Ground Two and Ground One respectively. A critical point for fans is that both matches will be played behind closed doors, as the CoE facility does not have any provision for spectator entry. This ends weeks of speculation about Kohli playing at the Chinnaswamy for the first time since the unfortunate stampede outside the venue on June 4 during the RCB IPL victory celebrations.
Kohli Trains with Delhi Squad Amid Uncertainty
Despite the venue chaos, Virat Kohli is in Bengaluru and preparing for the tournament. The star batter, who arrived in the city on Monday night, joined his Delhi teammates for net practice on Tuesday. He was seen training for about an hour alongside wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and bowlers Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini.
The initial plan to move the matches from the KSCA Alur Stadium to the more central Chinnaswamy was made specifically to manage expected crowd surges and related logistical issues. However, with the police denial, the focus now shifts to the secluded CoE grounds, where Kohli will finally make his competitive comeback in the city, albeit without the roar of a home crowd.
