RCB’s homecoming celebration marred by stampede tragedy; Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh react, Virat Kohli faces online backlash

In a tragic incident, the celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) maiden IPL title turned lethal near Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, June 5, 2025. According to the Karnataka government, at least 11 people have died and 33 others have been injured in the incident.

The incident took place when RCB players reached Bengaluru to celebrate their first-ever triumph and IPL title win with fans earlier in the day. For the grand celebrations, the entire squad was first taken to the Vidhana Soudha, where the Karnataka state government arranged a felicitation ceremony to honour their IPL 2025 title win.

Following this, the team headed towards the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for further celebrations. This is when a huge crowd of fans gathered outside the stadium, and the massive congestion quickly turned into a stampede in no time.

Virat Kohli issued a statement immediately after the incident

The RCB star, Virat Kohli, stated in the evening on June 4, saying that he was 'at a loss for words' and 'absolutely gutted' over the loss of lives and injuries caused by the stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Along with Kohli, RCB also expressed a profound agony at the unfortunate events linked to the gathering outside the stadium. “We are deeply anguished by the unfortunate incidents that have come to light through media reports regarding public gatherings all over Bengaluru in anticipation of the team’s arrival this afternoon," RCB said in an official statement.

Credit: X | @Trend_VKohli

Former cricketers reacted to the RCB celebration stampede

Apart from Kohli, reactions on the unfortunate incident came in from across the cricket fraternity, from Sachin Tendulkar to Harbhajan Singh.

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar offered his condolences on Wednesday and said the incident is 'beyond tragic'.

Former India opener and commentator Aakash Chopra said he was “speechless” and “numb” after hearing the news. He shared a post on social media saying, “A victory parade for an IPL win claiming innocent lives. Heart goes out for the affected and their loved ones. Om Shanti."

Credit: X | @cricketaakash

Harbhajan Singh also stated the heartbreaking news and offered his condolences. He said, "Heartbreaking news of a stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, resulting in the tragic loss of lives and injuries to several cricket fans, has cast a dark shadow over the spirit of the game that unites millions across our nation."

Former Karnataka cricketer Dodda Ganesh, who has been vocal about cricket and other public issues, called it the 'saddest day' of his life.

Ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan shared a broken heart emoji on his social media.

Social media brutally slams team RCB and Virat Kohli

The social media erupted with criticism towards RCB and Virat Kohli, holding them partially responsible for the chaos and stampede that happened outside Chinnaswamy Stadium.

One wrote on X (formerly called Twitter), "Unbelievable! Victory celebration broadcast of the RCB parade continues. No mention of stampede. NOT DONE."

"At least Virat Kohli spoke a line in Kannada," one wrote. "Arrest Virat Kohli," another added.

“People are far more invested in embracing animosity for Virat Kohli rather than reflecting on what all actually went wrong lol this country beyond my reach of understanding.”

"Even in the 20th century people would know someone died an hour ago, and we are not living in dark ages. Shameless celebration, shameless people, not even a condolence tweet, aak thu! ? #ChinnaswamyStadium," another tweet mentioned.

"1 parade, 0 brains, & now 7 funerals. What kind of idiots plans a mass celebration without barricades, without strategy? This isn't a celebration gone wrong, this is an administration that went brain-dead?"

While one user on a Reddit thread said, "I know I will be hated here to comment this but everyone is doing blame game on govt and Rcb management but how they could such an huge crowd it was situation like Mahakumbh people were going mad to see the cup and Rcb team , no one wants people to die so please ? no one wants this blame game , I’m sad people lost their life."

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The tragic turn of events has cast a long shadow over what was meant to be a historic celebration for RCB and its fans.?As investigations continue, the focus now shifts to accountability and ensuring such a disaster never happens again.

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