The celebration of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) historic IPL 2025 win turned tragic after a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru claimed at least 11 lives and injured nearly 50 people.
Thousands had gathered outside the stadium to witness the team’s victory parade and felicitation, but the overwhelming crowd led to chaos and loss. Despite the heartbreaking events, the felicitation ceremony continued inside the stadium. The incident sparked widespread concern and questions regarding crowd control and event management.
BCCI Distances Itself from Celebration Event
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal made it clear that the event was not organized or overseen by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “It is sad and tragic. The celebrations turned into a tragedy. Our heartfelt condolences go to the families who lost their loved ones,” Dhumal told India Today.
He emphasized that the BCCI had no prior knowledge or involvement in the celebration, stating, “For the BCCI, the IPL concluded last night. We had no knowledge of such an incident occurring, so how can we be held responsible for it?” He further noted that there were no IPL officials present at the gates managing the crowd, and that the felicitation was a franchise-driven event, not a BCCI initiative.
Calls for Accountability and Future Safeguards
While expressing sympathy, Dhumal urged the local administration to investigate what went wrong. “Who called them? Who was responsible for facilitating them? These are questions the local administration must investigate,” he said, adding that the RCB officials informed him they were unaware of the stampede happening outside. “As soon as I was informed, I spoke to RCB and was told they were inside the stadium and called off the event after learning about the situation,” he added.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia also commented on the incident, calling it “very unfortunate” and acknowledging that the event lacked adequate planning. He suggested that new rules and frameworks might be considered in the future to manage similar celebrations more safely, indicating this incident could serve as a learning point.
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