The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have at last taken action and released a statement almost three months after the tragic stampede that had marred their historic celebrations of the IPL 2025 title. It happened on the very next day, June 5, just one day after the RCB were crowned maiden IPL champions by defeating the Punjab Kings in a dramatic final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. This should have been a day of pure bliss after 19 years of waiting, but instead, it became a cause of heartbreak because a stampede broke out outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, killing 11 people and injuring another 56.
RCB did not say anything in the 84 days following the death, other than a short note of condolence. Their initial official communication has now been in the form of a passionate message that they are about to launch RCB CARES to offer long-term help to people affected. It has provided financial assistance through the franchise, such as 10 lakh rupees, to the families of the deceased and other assistance to the families who were injured during the tragedy.
Nonetheless, it is the time when the statement was said which has put many fans and observers to task. Weeks of accusations of carelessness and mismanagement had their share, and the Karnataka government directly blamed the franchise for being at fault for lapses in crowd control. Although the subsequent gestures of compensation and even the formation of the fund by RCB are welcome, the critics perceive that the delayed reaction is more of damage control than an expression of compassion.
It was a shadow on the history of RCB that the tragedy brought to the most glorified period of its history. Thousands of people celebrated the victory of the team inside the stadium, but outside, at the same time, people grieved and rioted. The harsh contrast was a show of what bad planning can result in. To the majority of fans, the long silence of RCB only increased the misery and the fans felt abandoned at its most trying moment in the history of the franchise.
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