RCB’s victory celebration took a tragic turn outside Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a stampede claimed 11 lives and left 33 others injured. Chaos erupted outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday afternoon as massive crowds gathered for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2025 victory celebration.
What began as a moment of pride soon turned into tragedy when a stampede broke out, claiming 11 lives and leaving several others injured. The heartbreaking incident drew widespread condemnation, with many pointing fingers at the RCB management and state authorities for the lack of proper crowd control.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar also weighed in on the matter, sharing his thoughts and condolences on social media. Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday expressed his condolences over the “beyond tragic” stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Royal Challengers Bengaluru were celebrating their first-ever IPL title win in 18 years, following their victory over Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
RCB’s celebration took a tragic turn outside the stadium when a massive crowd of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite players. The overwhelming rush led to a stampede, leaving 11 people dead and 33 others injured. Expressing his sorrow on X, the legendary cricketer wrote: “What happened at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, is beyond tragic. My heart goes out to every affected family. Wishing peace and strength to all.” The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the governing body behind the IPL, issued a statement describing the incident as “deeply unfortunate.”
“This is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organisers should have planned it better,” board secretary Devajit Saikia stated. IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic stampede. He stated that the Indian cricket board had no prior knowledge of the event being organized outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“This is a very unfortunate incident… We had no information that such an event was being planned… If such events are planned in the future, then proper arrangements should be made… Those who were sitting inside the stadium had no information about the incident,” Arun Dhumal told ANI. “We express condolences to the families of the deceased. A title win was to be celebrated; rather, the loss of lives is being mourned.”
Despite the tragic chaos outside, RCB’s felicitation ceremony inside the stadium proceeded as scheduled. However, the much-anticipated open-bus parade, which had initially received approval from Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was ultimately cancelled. Inside the packed stadium, Virat Kohli and captain Rajat Patidar addressed the cheering crowd before the team took a victory lap around the ground with the IPL trophy.