The KSCA has been asked to move all the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches scheduled at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium - including Wednesday's opener between Delhi and Andhra involving Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant - to the BCCI Centre of Excellence due to security reasons. The KSCA was informed of the late development on Tuesday morning by Karnataka's home ministry.
The Delhi and Andhra teams were apprised of this development ahead of their training session, which will now happen at CoE. This is the second change in venues in two weeks: the KSCA had earlier moved the matches involving Kohli and Pant from Alur to the Chinnaswamy Stadium due to logistical and security challenges.
The KSCA was also asked to ensure that all matches in Bengaluru were played behind closed doors and without spectators. The Bengaluru police have assured strong security around Aerospace Park, where CoE is located. The venue has previously hosted Duleep Trophy matches, 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 matches involving Kohli and Pant at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. They had also hinted at the possibility of opening two stands, which could have seated 2000-3000 spectators. However, such a proposal is understood to have faced strong opposition from the government, which cited "potential security and compliance issues", even as work on several problem areas at the stadium is ongoing.
On Monday, a committee constituted by the Karnataka government comprising officials from police, public works and fire safety department inspected the Chinnaswamy Stadium and submitted a report. ESPNcricinfo understands the state government wanted to prevent chaos around the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the holiday season and ordered the change in venue.
Since Venkatesh Prasad took over as KSCA president earlier this month, there has been frenetic activity around the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Several meetings have been held with government officials about the possibility of top-flight cricket, including the IPL, returning to the venue subject to the KSCA complying with directives in the Justice John Michael D'Cunha report, which termed the venue "highly unsafe" for large gatherings following the stampede that caused the death of 11 people during RCB's IPL victory celebrations in June.