All Vijay Hazare Trophy matches scheduled to be held in Bengaluru have been shifted from the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to the BCCI Centre of Excellence following a directive from the Karnataka government, citing security concerns.

The change includes Wednesday's opening fixture between Delhi and Andhra, which will feature Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant. A Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) official confirmed the development to Cricbuzz.

The KSCA was informed of the decision by the state home ministry on Tuesday morning. Subsequently, both participating teams for the opening game were notified, and their pre-match training session is now set to take place at the BCCI CoE.

The decision to move the games is rooted in ongoing safety and compliance issues at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Following the tragic stampede during the RCB title celebrations on June 4, which resulted in 11 deaths, the venue has been under intense scrutiny.

The Justice John Michael D'Cunha report labeled the stadium "highly unsafe" for large gatherings. While the new KSCA management under Venkatesh Prasad has been working to address these concerns, a government committee inspection on Monday did not give the go ahead for the venue to resume hosting matches.

"KSCA values the Government's constructive and consultative approach at this stage and greatly appreciates the ongoing cooperation of the Home Department, the Police authorities, and other statutory agencies throughout this process," the body said in a statement release.

"The Association looks forward to receiving the detailed inputs, observations, and recommendations from the authorities forming part of the Review Committee and assures that all such recommendations will be implemented in a structured and time-bound manner KSCA remains fully committed to implementing all practicable safety, security, and infrastructure-related measures at the earliest. With this proactive approach and full compliance with the recommended measures, KSCA is confident that the necessary permissions for conducting Vijay Hazare Trophy matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium will be granted in the near future."

Meanwhile, all the Vijay Hazare matches in Bengaluru will be conducted without spectators, with the state government particularly wary of any potential chaos during the holiday season. Meanwhile, the Bengaluru police has guaranteed a heavy security presence around the Aerospace Park area. The CoE had recently hosted the Duleep Trophy and India A games in a similar closed-door setup.