Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) mentor and batting coach Dinesh Karthik has finally addressed the stampede that took place during the team’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations. RCB had secured the coveted trophy on June 3 with a narrow six-run win over Punjab Kings (PBKS).
The following day, June 4, the team returned to Bengaluru for a grand celebration. However, the festivities turned tragic as a stampede broke out near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, claiming 11 lives and leaving 71 others injured, as reported by The Hindu.
On Monday, September 8, during the India Today South Conclave, Karthik spoke about the heartbreaking incident, saying:
“Even now, speaking about it, when you showed me the pictures, I almost wanted to say it’s great to see, but you know, let’s move on, because the aftertaste that it left… there’s been absolute radio silence from us players. And as you would know, RCB is such a well-supported franchise, and it completely finished whatever our celebrations could have been.”
“So it is arguably one of the saddest things I have been part of, because I cannot even empathize with what those parents and families must go through. All I can say is, I just hope that in some way we can repay them. It’s very hard to digest and accept, honestly, to have known you were there and things like this happen,” he added.
Karthik further continued:
“We were in Bangalore, and we were told to go to an event. We went, and when we got news, we were sent back. I don’t think we even understood what had happened. It was beyond us. We are just sportsmen. We are playing a sport, and something like this happens, you just don’t know how to react. That was my first instinct, you know, people losing lives. Could it change? I really wish it could, because it completely changed the mood,” he added.
‘A Big Moment In My Life’: Karthik Reflects On RCB’s IPL 2025 Triumph
During the same discussion, Dinesh Karthik reflected on RCB’s IPL 2025 triumph, calling it one of the most significant moments of his life. The 40-year-old added:
“This is probably again one of those big moments in my life because I played for RCB for so long but we never ended up crossing the line. But being RCB’s mentor, able to do this with a bunch of boys, the journey was great and obviously this result is one of the best moments in my life. But you almost realize when you get to a moment like this, the winning is absolutely brilliant and it lives with you for 2 minutes and then you almost get past it.”
“You’re like, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ But when I look back, that whole process of me saying thank you to playing, you know, getting a call saying, ‘Would you be interested in becoming RCB’s mentor, taking up the job?’ That auction and the way we planned, that is what keeps coming to me so much more,” he added.
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