Virat Kohli's return to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru has been delayed. Kohli was set to feature at the venue for Delhi's Vijay Hazare Trophy matches this week. However, a late directive from the Karnataka Government meant that BCCI shifted the matches to their Centre of Excellence. The Chinnaswamy Stadium has not hosted a game since the June stampede that saw 11 people killed.

Chinnaswamy Stadium's wait to host a cricket match is set to stretch further after BCCI moved the Vijay Hazare matches to the Centre of Excellence (CoE). The Bengaluru stadium was set to host Delhi's two matches behind closed doors with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant featuring. However, the Karnataka government has put a stop on those plans.

Initially, the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches were set to be played in Alur. However after Kohli and Pant confirmed their availability, the matches were moved to Chinnaswamy to accommodate the fan frenzy. Now, the matches are set to take place at the BCCI CoE.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium has been in turmoil since the June 4 Stampede that saw 11 people killed. The venue has missed out on domestic and international games, with Justice John Michael D'Cunha report labeled the stadium "highly unsafe" for large gatherings.

While the state vice-president DK Sivakumar promised that IPL would return, there has been no movement on the same. And while KSCA, with new president Venkatesh Prasad, remain confident of hosting the games, the government have denied permission security concerns.

Chinnaswamy has now missed out on the IND vs SA, IND vs NZ, the Women's World Cup, the IND-W vs SL-W series and the T20 World Cup matches. BCCI's CoE will now host all Bengaluru matches with KSCA set to assist in logistics. The venue hosted women's world cup warm up games, while India A also played their 4-day games there.