Virat Kohli’s Vijay Hazare Trophy return in Bengaluru likely to be without spectators

Virat Kohli’s return in Bengaluru for Vijay Hazare Trophy to be without spectators. (AP Photo)

Due to the local authorities' refusal to grant permission for crowd presence, Bengaluru fans will not be able to witness Virat Kohli participating in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The Karnataka State Cricket Association and state government officials are reportedly in talks, and it will be evident on Wednesday whether or not Delhi's first-round match versus Andhra will take place at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. If not, there's a good chance the match will take place behind closed doors at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence.

Late on Monday night, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who is leading Delhi in the competition, arrived in Bengaluru. The Delhi squad will train at the CoE on Tuesday, and by the afternoon, a decision will be made regarding the venue of the match.

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It is believed that KSCA, led by former Indian bowler Venkatesh Prasad, asked the state administration for permission to hold the game in front of 3,000 spectators. However, since this is a holiday season and there are still worries about crowd control, Kohli and Pant's presence would draw a sizable crowd. It is believed that the authorities have advised the KSCA to play behind closed doors since it would once more result in riotous events.

Regarding the location, the Chinnaswamy Stadium was examined by a commission established by the state government in order to assess the ground and make a decision. It is acknowledged that the findings will be shared with the KSCA later in the day.

The stadium hasn't hosted any games since the stampede occurred outside Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's win celebrations on June 4, which resulted in the deaths of eleven people. The ICC Women's World Cup opener and final were supposed to take place there, however the matches were moved out.

Fans continued to want to see Kohli play Chinnaswamy ever since Bengaluru was given the Vijay Hazare Elite D matches and it was confirmed that he would play for Delhi. The first two rounds of Delhi, which were supposed to take place in Alur, were rescheduled for Chinnaswamy earlier last week.