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BCCI Devajit Saikia - (Source: AFP)
The 63rd edition of Duleep Trophy is all set to commence on August 23. Six Teams will lock horns to get their hands on the prestigious title. The upcoming tournament will mark the beginning of a new domestic cycle.
The 5-match tournament will run from August 23 to September 6, and BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru will host all the matches. In the latest events, there are reports that the Apex cricket board of India is actually mulling relocating the final.
Duleep Trophy Final Likely To Move Out Of Bengaluru
A report from Sportstak mentioned that the BCCI is mulling moving the Duleep Trophy 2026 final out of Bengaluru due to spectators’ restriction. For the unversed, fans won’t be allowed at the Centre of Excellence, and all the matches will be played behind closed doors.
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Fans are a crucial part of any game, and to have a prestigious tournament played behind closed doors would be a shame. Hence, during BCCI’s recent visit to the CoE, secretary Devajit Saikia shed light on the issue and confirmed that the board is mulling options to shift the final to a full-fledged tournament.
Why Can’t Fans Attend Matches At CoE?
For the unversed, the advisory to hold the Duleep Trophy matches behind closed doors was not issued by the BCCI. In fact, there is a government rule in place which bars the BCCI from bringing in a crowd at the Centre of Excellence.
"There are some restrictions while this land was adopted here...that we cannot have a crowd in this campus. So, that is a government restriction. We cannot violate that," said Saikia while speaking to selected media persons in the presence of president Mithun Manhas, VVS Laxman and joint secretary Prabhtej Singh at the BCCI CoE.
Notably, the Karnataka government has restrcited crowd from entering the CoE because it lacks crowd safety approvals.
"That is one way, and we will definitely appreciate your suggestions on whether the final can be hosted in a stadium or not. We still have time. We'll look into that aspect. If required, we'll do that," he said.
BCCI Hints At Telecasting Duleep Trophy Live
Despite the rumours that Duleep Trophy final might be shifted to another venue, it seems like the BCCI's focus at present is to live-stream the match.
"But people very close to the team members can come. But this year, we have increased the number of matches to be telecast live. That way, we are giving the fans a chance to watch their favourite players and teams performing in the ring properly," Saikia said.
He also added that for the time being, the board is not considering live-streaming the matches and also brining in crowd to the ground at the same time.
"But for the time being, what we have done is to increase the number of matches which are live telecast from last year," he said.
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