Following a stampede outside the stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory celebrations last year, in which 11 people lost their lives, the state government imposed a ban on hosting matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. After the recently concluded KSCA elections, former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad was elected as the new president. Subsequently, the newly formed committee appealed to the government to allow matches to be hosted at the stadium again.
After receiving a initial positive response from the government, plans were made to host the Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Andhra Pradesh and Delhi on Wednesday, in which Virat Kohli is expected to play. The KSCA had decided that the match would be conducted without spectators under the current circumstances.
Meanwhile, the committee constituted by the Home Department-which included the Greater Bengaluru Authority, Bengaluru Police, Fire Department, and other concerned departments-inspected the stadium on Tuesday and denied permission. Sources told NDTV that the report pointed out the stadium has not yet fully complied with the prescribed safety and compliance requirements. Based on this assessment, permission was not granted for Wednesday’s match.
Following the Karnataka government’s refusal to grant permission for the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the match has now been shifted to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.