Gautam Gambhir on Bengaluru Stampede: Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has expressed deep grief over the tragic incident of many people being killed and injured in the stampede during the celebration of the IPL 2025 victory of Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru. He said during a press conference that more knowing is more than celebration. Significantly, despite this ticket organized by Karnataka State Cricket Association, about 2.5 lakh fans flocked outside the stadium. The crowd suddenly became uncontrollable and a stampede occurred. In this accident, 11 people lost their lives, which included young men and women between 13 and 35 years of age.

Gambhir’s reaction to Bengaluru stampede

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir said on a stampede during the RCB celebration in Bengaluru that he has never been in favor of organizing a road show to celebrate the victory, as such events could threaten life. The new Test captain Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir had a press conference in Mumbai before the Indian cricket team left for the England tour. Meanwhile, Gambhir reacted to the Bengaluru accident.

‘Life is more important’

Gambhir said, ‘Life is more important and I will keep saying the same in future. In future, we should be a little more aware about these road shows. We may be a little aware of not doing these road shows. We can celebrate this (celebration) inside the closed doors or in the stadium. This is very sad. My condolences are with the families and loved ones of the victims. I hope nothing like this will happen in future. We should not have done this. You cannot lose 11 people at any time. I believe that there should not have been a road show.

Gambhir urged the organizers to take more care. He said, ‘I cannot say whether the number of fans has increased or not. All I can say is that we need to become responsible citizens. We need to be responsible in every aspect, whether it is franchise or something else. Every life matters. If you are not ready to do a road show, then you should not do this. The easier it can be, the easier it is.

‘If you can’t handle the crowd …’

Gambhir said, ‘I know that fans are excited. The fans class is excited, but it is nothing compared to what happened yesterday. I cannot sit here and say who is responsible. It is important to win. It is important to celebrate. But even more important is the life of common people. If you are not ready, if you cannot handle the crowd, then we do not do this road show.

RCB announces 10 lakh compensation

RCB has announced to provide financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to each of the 11 dead families and establish RCB Care Fund to help the fans injured in this tragic incident. The Karnataka State Cricket Association also said that it will give Rs 5 lakh to each family of those killed in a stampede around Chinnaswamy Stadium.