BCCI Admits ‘Lapses’ in RCB Event Planning After Bengaluru Stampede Kills 11
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has acknowledged “lapses” in the planning of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebration that turned tragic on Wednesday, killing 11 people and injuring several others in a stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia clarified that while the cricket board had no role in organizing the event, it would look into formulating guidelines for such celebrations in the future to prevent similar tragedies.
“It’s very unfortunate what has happened. I think there were some lapses. The BCCI has no role in it. But it’s a lesson to learn. We will look into forming new rules for such victory celebrations going forward,” Saikia told India Today.
The BCCI official emphasized that the event should have been planned better, pointing to organizational failures that contributed to the deadly incident.
The celebration at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was organized by the Karnataka State Cricket Association to felicitate RCB’s maiden IPL title win after 18 years.
While entry to the venue required passes, thousands of fans gathered outside hoping to catch a glimpse of the IPL trophy and the RCB team.
According to preliminary government information, a temporary slab placed over a drain near the stadium premises collapsed under the weight of people standing on it, causing panic and triggering the fatal stampede.
Following the tragedy, RCB stars concluded their speeches swiftly, with the fan-interaction event at the stadium wrapping up in under 20 minutes.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar confirmed that organizers were instructed to conclude the event within 15 minutes after the incident occurred.
An open-top bus parade that had been scheduled for Wednesday was subsequently cancelled as a precautionary measure.
BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla appealed to avoid politicizing the incident, stating: “There was a huge crowd. We are checking what happened and what was the cause of the stampede. There is no need to give a political colour to this incident.”
Deputy CM Shivakumar revealed that the state government had denied permission for the bus parade, suggesting authorities were aware of potential crowd management challenges.
The tragedy occurred during elaborate celebrations planned across Bengaluru following RCB’s historic victory over Gujarat Titans by six runs in Tuesday’s IPL 2025 final in Ahmedabad.
Deputy CM Shivakumar received the RCB players at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, followed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah felicitating the team at Vidhana Soudha.
The team, including captain Rajat Patidar and former captain Virat Kohli, then proceeded to M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the fan interaction event where the stampede occurred.
