Bengaluru, Dec. 23 -- The presence of Virat Kohli has emerged as the decisive factor behind the last-minute shifting of Vijay Hazare Trophy matches away from the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, with the Karnataka government advising the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to move the high-profile fixtures to the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) on the outskirts of Bengaluru due to security concerns.
Wednesday's opening match between Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, in which Kohli and Rishabh Pant were set to feature, will now be played behind closed doors at the CoE ground near the Aerospace Park.
A top KSCA official told UNI that the state government specifically flagged the "Virat Kohli factor" while advising the venue shift.
According to the of...