All matches of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 will be held behind closed doors without spectators in the stands, the tournament organiser stated on Friday.
The two-week tournament will be held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on August 11 to 27.
The press release from the organiser did not mention any reason for holding the tournament behind closed doors.
The decision comes after the stampede that occurred outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium last month during the celebration of RCB’s title win in IPL 2025. Eleven persons lost their lives and several were injured on that fateful evening.
To play in front of empty stands comes as a dampener in this edition of Karnataka’s premier T20 league.
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is also scheduled to host four matches – three league stage games and one semifinal – of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in September and October this year.
Karun Nair (Mysore Warriors), Prasidh Krishna (Mysore Warriors) and Mayank Agarwal (Bengaluru Blasters), meanwhile, were amongst the key player retentions.
The player auction is scheduled to be held on July 15. Each team must build squads with a minimum of 16 players and no more than 18 players, excluding two mandatory picks from their respective catchment areas.
Player retention list: Mysore Warriors: Karun Nair, S.U. Karthik, Prasidh Krishna, C.A. Karthik.
Bengaluru Blasters: Mayank Agarwal, Suraj Ahuja, Shubhang Hegde, M.G. Naveen
Hubli Tigers: K.L. Shrijith, K.P. Karthikeya, Manvanth Kumar, K.C. Cariappa
Gulbarga Mystics: Vyshak Vijaykumar, R. Smaran, Luvnith Sisodia, Praveen Dubey
Shivamogga Lions: V. Koushik, Nihal Ullal, Hardik Raj, D. Avinash
Mangaluru Dragons: Abhilash Shetty, Macneil Noronha, Paras Gurbax Arya, Lochan Gowda.
Published – July 11, 2025 11:30 pm IST