Sachin Tendulkar mourns loss of lives in RCB homecoming stampede

A tragic turn marred the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s homecoming celebrations on Wednesday, as a massive stampede broke out in the city amidst jubilant scenes, leaving 11 dead and many others injured near Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a special felicitation ceremony was organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Academy (KSCA) to honour the RCB players for its maiden IPL victory, ending a 18-year-old long wait. 

Reacting to the heartbreaking incident, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar expressed his sorrow, calling it `beyond tragic`. “What happened at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, is beyond tragic. My heart goes out to every affected family. Wishing peace and strength to all,” he wrote on X.

What happened at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, is beyond tragic. My heart goes out to every affected family. Wishing peace and strength to all. 🙏

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 4, 2025

The disaster unfolded as fans packed the streets in large numbers to greet the newly-crowned IPL champions, who had returned victorious after a thrilling win over Punjab Kings in Tuesday night’s final. However, the atmosphere of celebration quickly descended into chaos, with endless crowds jostling for space and police attempting to control the mob using batons.

7 dead. Many are battling for life after a stampede due to the irresponsibility of Congress govt.

No crowd control measures. No basic arrangements. Just chaos.

While innocent people died, @siddaramaiah & @DKShivakumar were busy shooting reels & hogging limelight with… pic.twitter.com/IVPuQjXxcq

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) June 4, 2025

However, inside the Chinnaswamy, the show went on with players delivering speeches to acknowledge each other and the fans amid thumping music and bursting of firecrackers as well.

“It`s for all of you – the fans, the people of this wonderful city, people who`ve supported RCB through thick and thin. I`ve never seen any fan base of any team in the world like this franchise,” said Virat Kohli, who was the cynosure of all eyes after ticking another box in his illustrious career.

Patidar, like Kohli, also waxed eloquent about RCB`s loyal fans, considered by many as the most passionate along side the ones who adore Chennai Super Kings.

“You all deserve the trophy. We all love you,” Patidar said at the felicitation ceremony.

The scenes leading up to the tragedy reminded one of the historic welcome given to the T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad by Mumbai in July last year. However, while the sea of humanity had a gala time in Mumbai, things went haywire in the Garden City.

The much-anticipated open-top bus parade, which was allowed to proceed by Siddaramaiah from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, ultimately could not take place as crowd became unmanageable for the police.

This article first appeared on Mid Day