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RCB finally won the IPL. After 18 years of heartbreak and endless memes, the long wait ended on 4 June 2025. The streets of Bengaluru erupted with joy. The coveted trophy was brought home. But beneath the glitter and celebration, something went terribly wrong.
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| Image: Twitter |
What should have been a jubilant day for cricket fans turned into a nightmare later on. Outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the final was held, chaos erupted. A massive crowd gathered for the team's victory parade, but poor planning and a dangerous rumor triggered a deadly stampede, claiming at least 13 innocent lives, most of them teenagers.
What Went Wrong?
According to a Government official, while the stadium can hold only about 35,000 people, nearly 2-3 lakh fans surrounded the stadium in the hope of free entry or a glimpse of the winning team. Later that night, when the horrific incident took place, social media was flooded with images and videos of people jumping gates, climbing barricades, and desperately trying to enter the closed venue. Some of them were only desperately trying to release themself from the claws of the crowd.
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| Image: Twitter |
The local police admitted they were not enough to handle such an overwhelming turnout. The number was beyond anticipation. There were not enough crowd control barriers, no loudspeaker announcements, and no emergency response protocols in place, neither by the police nor by the tournament management.
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| Image: Twitter |
This wasn’t a music concert. This wasn’t a political rally. This was an impromptu sports celebration; it was half-organized, barely managed, and completely unmonitored. Just to collect a big sum.
The Madness Behind Cricket Fandom in India
India doesn’t just watch cricket, we breathe it. We worship it. Everyone knows the madness for cricket in India. Indians don’t just watch cricket, they breathe it. They worship it. Half of our youth are playing cricket as an exercise. After their offices, their classes, and on weekends. They play cricket. This is a constant part of their lives. They are fans of different trophies from Gally cricket to global tournaments like the World Cup, T-20, Test, and now IPL. Our youth follow every ball, every player, and every state.
On top, the IPL has exaggerated the obsession with cricket. It's sheer madness now. From the auction to the final trophy, chaos and excitement surrounded us at every turn. I’m sure in your family, there is someone who follows cricket as a religion.
They don’t know there’s a fine line between passion and obsession. And events like IPL, with its glitz, glamour, and shallow drama, have become synonymous with madness.
This is why a simple winning moment of the RCB, which should have been a moment of celebration, became such a disaster, and excitement spiraled into tragedy.
A Pattern of Tragedy
Unfortunately, this isn't the only event that took innocent lives in India. We’ve witnessed similar disasters previously at religious gatherings, music festivals, and political rallies. From the Delhi railway station stampede to the Mahakumbh stampede and Hathras stampede, history keeps repeating itself, this time under the banner of cricket.
So, who is to blame?
Yes, the government has limits. But crowd safety is not just a government responsibility. We, the people, need to reflect. Why do we follow rumors so blindly? Why do we ignore basic safety rules in the name of excitement?
And more importantly, why such events are above our lives. We are all aware of the dangerous outcomes of such mismanaged events, yet we ignore them. We go and become one of them and then blame on government. We need to ask ourselves, how much a government can control a crowd that simply wants to celebrate?
What social media said
We need to have a serious discussion
We know most of the people on the Titanic died not because the ship sank, but there were not enough lifeboats in case of an emergency, and they ignored the most common question, “What if?"
What happened in Bengaluru wasn't just a mishap. It was madness and mismanagement.
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