New Delhi: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar recently opened up on the tragic stampede in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives and left several others injured. The stampede took place outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru amid Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s grand celebrations after their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title triumph.
Thousands of fans gathered outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a felicitation ceremony had been organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for the RCB squad. While the stadium was packed with lakhs of fans, the situation outside became critical when people tried to force their way into the venue, leading to chaos before a stampede broke out.
In his column for Mid-Day, Gavaskar paid his heartfelt condolences to the victims of the stampede and expressed his grief over the incident. The former India captain called the incident ‘heartbreaking’ and acknowledged the fans’ emotions after the franchise brought an 18-year-long wait for their maiden IPL title.
“The IPL Trophy, which they kept hoping would be theirs every year but never did, was finally coming to them after a wait of 18 years. It was totally understandable for their joy to know no bounds, and they wanted to show it to their heroes,” wrote Gavaskar.
The batting legend insisted that if RCB won the IPL trophy in the first few years of the inception of the tournament in 2008, the emotions would not have been as intense as they were. Notably, RCB, who were one of the three teams to have never won the IPL title despite being part of the competition, brought an end to the 18-year title drought by beating Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final on June 03.
“If RCB had won the Trophy in the first few years, there would not have been this outpouring of emotion as happened after the long wait of 18 years. Other teams have won but their celebrations have been a lot less frenetic, maybe because their fans didn’t have to wait this long,” wrote Gavaskar.
No point blaming anyone: Gavaskar
Gavaskar believes there is no point blaming anyone for the tragic stampede, as those who lost their lives can’t be brought back. However, calls for justice for the victims have grown over the last few days amid decisive action from the Karnataka government and the authorities involved. The Karnataka government has constituted a one-man inquiry panel to investigate the incident. Retired High Court judge John Michael Cunha has been appointed to oversee the investigation.
“There is no point blaming anyone. That’s futile as the lives can’t be brought back and some injuries may never heal properly especially the mental ones,” Gavaskar reasoned.
The Karnataka government on Sunday increased the compensation amount to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 10 lakh for the families of the victims of the Bengaluru stampede. The tragic incident has led to serious questions about the safety arrangements for the IPL celebration event and the lack of crowd control at the event.
Sunil Gavaskar expressed his condolences and sorrow over the tragic stampede in Bengaluru amid Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL celebrations that left 11 dead and many injured. Gavaskar insisted the 18-year wait for the title led to intense emotions among fans. IPL Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
