Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium will remain out of bounds for competitive cricket, with city police on Tuesday refusing permission to host a Vijay Hazare Trophy match scheduled for 24 December, even without spectators.
The Karnataka State Cricket Association had sought approval to stage the one-day fixture behind closed doors. The request was turned down following a fresh inspection by a government-appointed committee.
The match has now been shifted to the BCCI Centre of Excellence on the outskirts of the city near Kempegowda International Airport, official sources confirmed.
“There is no need for any confusion. Based on the committee’s recommendation, permission has been rejected. So there is no match there tomorrow,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh told reporters.
Singh, who is also a member of the inspection panel, declined to share details of the report, saying it had been submitted to the government.
Cricket at the Chinnaswamy has been suspended since June 4, when a stampede outside the stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations claimed 11 lives.
The tragedy prompted the state government to order a safety audit and tighten scrutiny around events at the venue.
The inspection committee, constituted by home minister G. Parameshwara, is headed by Greater Bengaluru Authority commissioner Maheshwar Rao and includes senior police officials along with representatives from the PWD, fire and health departments and BESCOM. The panel visited the stadium on Monday.
Rao said the committee would submit a detailed report to the government. “We were asked to do a thorough verification of the facilities at the stadium.
We will submit our findings, and it is for the government to decide how it is taken forward,” he said, stopping short of commenting on the recommendations.
Parameshwara had earlier indicated that the committee would assess whether KSCA had complied with a 17-point safety checklist already communicated by the police. Any future clearance, he said, would depend on adherence to those conditions.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah underlined that position on Tuesday, linking permissions to the findings of the Justice John Michael Cunha Commission, which was set up to probe the June stampede.
“A commission was constituted under Justice Cunha. The recommendations made in its report should be complied with.
If they are complied with, permission will be given,” the chief minister said, adding that operational decisions rested with the home department.
The Cunha Commission is understood to have concluded that the stadium’s design and structure were unsuitable and unsafe for mass gatherings.
Its recommendations reportedly include additional entry and exit gates, purpose-built queuing and circulation zones away from public roads, internationally compliant emergency evacuation plans and adequate parking facilities.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who also oversees Bengaluru development, said he was unaware of Tuesday’s denial but favoured restoring cricket to the city.
“I am in favour of holding matches in Bengaluru and protecting its pride. Matches should be allowed by laying down the necessary conditions. I will discuss this with the home minister,” he said in New Delhi.
The decision also has implications for fans hoping to watch India’s biggest stars in domestic action. With all 38 teams in action in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday, the BCCI has confirmed that only a handful of matches will be broadcast, with production facilities in place only at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium and the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.
As a result, there will be no live telecast or streaming of matches featuring Rohit Sharma for Mumbai in Jaipur or Virat Kohli for Delhi in Bengaluru.
While spectators will be allowed at Mumbai’s fixture, that option will not be available in Bengaluru, with the game now moved away from the Chinnaswamy.
The broadcast schedule could still change, as it did during a Ranji Trophy match earlier this year when last-minute arrangements were made to stream a Kohli appearance.