A night meant for jubilation turned into a tragedy, and now the BCCI is looking to step in. In the aftermath of the horrific stampede that claimed 11 lives during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory celebrations, the board is considering formal guidelines to regulate such events in the future. The crowd surge near Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday evening sparked public outrage, prompted state-level action, and forced the Indian cricket board to acknowledge its oversight responsibilities.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, speaking to Cricbuzz, confirmed that the governing body will now actively look into setting parameters for future post-title celebrations across the league. “At some stage BCCI will have to do something. We cannot be a silent spectator,” Saikia said.
While RCB’s celebrations were privately organised, Saikia acknowledged that the event’s consequences could not be divorced from the sport’s larger ecosystem. “It was a private affair of RCB, but we at the BCCI are responsible for cricket in India, and we will try to ensure such incidents do not recur in future,” he added.
The tragedy has intensified calls for accountability and reform. The Karnataka government has already begun taking action, with multiple arrests and disciplinary steps against police and organising officials. Across the cricket fraternity, voices have echoed concerns about crowd control and the purpose of such mass events.
Gambhir reacted
India head coach Gautam Gambhir also weighed in a day after the incident, strongly opposing open-road celebrations. “I think the lives of people are far more important and I will continue to say. We can be a little bit careful of not holding these kinds of roadshows and can probably have them closed doors or something like this in a stadium,” Gambhir said.
“When I used to play, I didn’t believe much in roadshows. I don’t believe in them today and I don’t believe in them in the future. Winning is important, celebrations are important, but more important than that is the life of any person. So if we are not prepared, or if we cannot handle the crowd in that way, then might as well these roadshows should not take place.”
According to Saikia, the BCCI will discuss deterrent measures in the near future, although the specifics, such as their structure or timeline, are still undecided.
