 "Bengaluru stampede: Tragedy at Chinnaswamy a massive, inescapable blot on RCB's historic triumph")
June 3, 2025 will be eternally etched in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s history. They outlasted the Punjab Kings in the final of the IPL in Ahmedabad and broke their hoodoo, which had lasted since the start of the competition. It was a terrific evening to be an RCB fan. Just because of all they have endured over the years.
June 4, 2025 will also be remembered. But as a massive and inescapable blot. Because all of that triumphant vibe, that feeling of being on top of the world, came crashing down and led to tragedy . Tragedy that no one should have or should be going through.
The moment the trophy was lifted, rumours of RCB hosting a parade were rife. That is not an uncommon practice. Football teams around the world do so after winning a big tournament and IPL franchises in the past have done it too.
The Indian cricket team has also done open-bus parades previously, most recently after their T20 World Cup win last June, and while large crowds gathered on those occasions as well, nothing untoward happened and those who attended went home having lived a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Rushed from the start
This particular iteration, with not even 24 hours having passed since the end of the final, just felt…rushed from the start. And so it proved, with chaos descending in and around the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Several reports indicate that eleven people died in what has since been described as a stampede-like situation, and numerous others were hospitalised for a variety of injuries, ranging from mild fractured skulls to dehydration and bruises.
Also Read | Bengaluru stampede: Times when other sporting events and celebrations turned tragic
These people, remember, would have likely left their homes with beaming smiles on their faces, having seen their team do what they had dreamt of them doing since 2008. Only to never return home. And that will shatter their families and people close to them. Because even though sport is painted as this matter of life and death at times, it is not how it should be. Sport and the happiness and celebration it brings, has to and must be enjoyed by everyone, and the moment something like this happens, it just leaves a massive void. Undeniably for those directly affected by it, but also for the sport in itself.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWhich, inevitably, begs the question: could it all have been prevented and handled better? The answer, overwhelmingly, is in the affirmative.
How the RCB victory parade could have been handled better
For starters, RCB could have and probably should have waited a day or two before hosting a parade or celebrations. The IPL title they won in Ahmedabad will be theirs forever, and considering their enormously long wait, the excitement would surely have carried over into the weekend, which would have given the authorities, including the police, enough time to chalk out a roadmap to ensure no mishaps took place.
Then, while there was carnage on the outside, the celebrations on the inside continued. The official word is that those at the ground did not know what was transpiring on the outside and that they, in fact, curtailed some of what had been planned. But in this era, where news probably filters quicker than the actual event itself, this looks, feels, and sounds like a very robotic response. The same could be said about the statements that were released in the aftermath .
Also Read | BCCI secretary blames organisers for stampede during RCB victory celebrations
The public authorities, of course, could also have handled things better overall, once it became clear that a celebration/felicitation of some sort would be going ahead. They were not helped by the to-and-fro between the traffic police department and RCB, with uncertainty over whether a parade would happen at all, raging into the early afternoon, just hours out from when the team was scheduled to meet the fans.
There have been reports that the usual traffic was not closed off either in areas that would have been probable hot-spots during any trophy celebration/presentation/parade, and had that been done, it would certainly have been much more helpful.
How BCCI can set a precedent going forward
One thing the BCCI (because it controls every small detail around cricket) could do henceforth is introduce some regulation for teams/franchises wishing to host victory parades/celebrations. There could be a mandatory gap-period between the winning of the final and such celebrations.
A standard operating procedure could and should also be established where all clearances are properly obtained to ensure that this has a designated place and becomes a designated occasion, allowing people who may not be interested in being a part, to also plan out their itinerary accordingly.
Also Read | BCCI's Rajeev Shukla reacts to Chinnaswamy stampede during RCB victory celebrations
Because, well, the entire city cannot come to a standstill every time.
But above all, a concerted effort has to be made to protect the fans. From everyone involved. Right from the top, who make the decisions, to those who execute them. What happened in Bengaluru was bone-tingling and heart-breaking and no one, just because they wanted to be there for their team, should lose their lives.
Fans and their lives, simply and bluntly put, CANNOT be taken for granted. It is the fans that make this sport (or any sport) what it is and this, most definitely, is not what they deserve. And it is a shame that such an episode unfolded at all.
Also Read | 'Speechless. Numb': Ex-India cricketers express shock over Chinnaswamy stadium stampede
Which also makes it tough to fight the feeling that while RCB may have won on Tuesday, the fans, who visualised being there with their team every step of the way, lost on Wednesday. And sport, so often the unifier, might have lost just that tad bit too.
Hopefully, this never, ever happens again. And such an article is never, ever required again.
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