Former cricketer Robin Uthappa expressed profound anger and disappointment with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) following the tragic stampede near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, an incident that claimed 11 lives and left many injured. Uthappa believes that while RCB fans deserved to celebrate their IPL victory, the franchise should have taken more time to meticulously plan the festivities.
Thousands had gathered outside the stadium for parallel events with free passes and limited entry, mere hours after RCB’s final win in Ahmedabad. The celebration and a planned victory parade were abruptly halted once news of the stampede broke. Subsequently, an FIR was filed with Bengaluru police, naming RCB, officials from the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and others. Nikhil Sosale, RCB’s head of marketing and revenue, is currently in judicial custody, and several police officers have been suspended as the investigation continues.
Uthappa shared his frustration on his YouTube channel, stating, “I was angry for almost a day and I really delayed even putting anything out on social media because I was so angry. In a sense, we were talking about a modicum of balance during the rivalries bit right? One can understand that in the celebrations you really want people to get close to the team and celebrate with them. I certainly think it could have been better planned, maybe take a day off to just plan the whole event because the city did deserve it, to be very honest.”
The emotional toll of the tragedy is evident in Uthappa’s words, as he reflected on the lasting impact on the affected families and the damage to the relationship with RCB. “The sad part is now that whenever there is an RCB game, my heart shudders to think what those families will experience. It just hurts, man. It truly truly hurts. I just think they didn’t have enough time to plan for it. In hindsight, doing it the very next day was an error in judgment.”
Let’s just hope we don’t get to witness any such thing again in the future.
