Just as Virat Kohli played his two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches behind closed doors at the Center of Excellence (CoE), no general public will be allowed in during India captain Shubman Gill’s ODI match for Punjab against Sikkim at Jaipuria College on Saturday.
As per the dictates of the BCCI, India’s captain and pace chief Arshdeep Singh will play Punjab’s next few Vijay Hazare Trophy matches against Sikkim and Goa on January 3 and 6 respectively.
While the match against Goa will be held at the KL Saini Stadium, the match against Sikkim at the local university will be held behind closed doors due to security concerns and lack of seating for spectators.
“Students and staff are allowed inside, but there will be sufficient security measures including the deployment of private bouncers. No outsiders will be allowed on the school premises under any circumstances.”
“The planning was done much earlier, just for that Rohit Sharma and anticipating the response, the Mumbai match had to be shifted to the Sawai Man Singh Stadium from Anantam,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
As with games Kohli and Rohit Sharma were not broadcast or live streamed, Gill’s match will also not be televised live.
Both Gill and Arshdeep are scheduled to arrive from their respective destinations on Friday late evening.
“Both Gill and Arshdeep were supposed to arrive in the evening, but the prevailing weather conditions in North India have led to delays in their flights. Weather permitting, they will arrive late at night,” he added.
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
January 2, 2026
