IPL 2025: Madan Lal is unhappy with RCB's victory celebration plans

A sea of fans gathered at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, June 4, to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) historic IPL 2025 title win. The victory parade was meant to be a joyous occasion, marking RCB’s first-ever IPL triumph under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy, after their thrilling six-run win over Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad the previous evening. However, the festivities took a tragic turn as a stampede broke out, leading to the loss of 11 lives and injuring nearly 50 others. According to official reports, most of the victims were young men and women, many of them students who had gathered to be part of the momentous occasion.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah revealed that while the stadium’s seating capacity is about 35,000, an overwhelming crowd of over two to three lakh people assembled near the venue. The police stated that approximately 50,000 people had crowded within a one-kilometre radius of the stadium. In their eagerness to witness the RCB team, fans attempted to push through closed gates and scale barricades, leading to chaos and the tragic stampede. The incident cast a dark shadow over what was supposed to be a celebratory milestone for the franchise and its supporters.

“You celebrated in Ahmedabad the previous night. What was the rush to organize a grand event in Bengaluru the next day? Eleven lives were lost unnecessarily,” stated former Indian cricketer Madan Lal. 

The jubilant celebrations inside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium were abruptly cut short just 20 minutes after they began, following news of a tragic incident unfolding outside the venue. Organisers were informed about the stampede-like situation near the stadium gates, which prompted them to end the program immediately out of respect for the victims and to help avoid further chaos.

What was meant to be a historic moment of joy for the city quickly turned somber as the scale of the tragedy became clear. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed the media soon after, expressing deep sorrow over the lives lost and those injured. He clarified that the state government had no direct involvement in organising the event, stating that the celebrations were managed independently by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise in collaboration with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

The Chief Minister’s remarks underlined that the government had not coordinated or overseen crowd management plans for the event. He also assured that a thorough investigation would be conducted to understand what led to the stampede and whether any lapses occurred. The tragedy has cast a shadow over RCB's long-awaited IPL title win, turning a day of celebration into one of mourning.

“It is not us. We didn’t make any request regarding the celebration to RCB and KSCA. They organised this. We felt that the government should felicitate. Just because it was a Bengaluru team, we felt that we should be a part of the celebration. That’s all. We didn’t ask that we would do this but it’s RCB and KSCA who brought the team to Bengaluru for celebrations,” stated CM Siddaramaiah.