A year after 11 fans died during RCB title celebrations, the franchise's IPL 2026 triumph has sparked discussion over whether the victims should have been acknowledged.
IMAGE: Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL 2026 title win on Sunday, May 31, 2026. Photograph: BCCI
Key Points
- Virat Kohli thanked RCB's nationwide fanbase after the franchise retained the IPL title in 2026.
- RCB had paid tribute to the victims at the start of the 2026 season through symbolic gestures.
- The absence of any mention during the title celebrations has sparked debate among sections of RCB supporters.
When Player of the Match Virat Kohli was asked to say a few words for Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans after their IPL 2026 title triumph, the former captain said: 'We don't have 7 home games, we have 14, because everywhere we have fans getting behind us. We just try to continue to make them proud and try and put our best foot forward.'
In normal circumstances, this would have gone down as a notable gesture by Kohli to acknowledge the club's fans.
But the situation is anything but regular this year, given that just about 12 months ago, 11 RCB fans died and more than 30 were left injured in a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy stadium while trying to join a party inside the venue to honour RCB's IPL triumph on June 4, 2025.
Given the backdrop of the tragedy, Kohli's gratitude could be deemed a cursory comment as some supporters may have expected a more direct acknowledgement of the victims.
After RCB defeated Gujarat Titans to defend their IPL title on Sunday, May 31, the broadcasters first ran towards Kohli for a byte. Given Kohli's willingness to speak on issues outside the cricket field, one would have expected him to make a mention of or dedicate the IPL 2026 win to the stampede victims.
But it was not to be.
While he praised his team-mates and threw generic sentences, the one comment that RCB fans were searching for was missing.
What would it take for Kohli or anyone from RCB to acknowledge those 11 fans and others who suffered in that stampede?
Yes, RCB paid tribute to the stampede victims in their IPL 2026 opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
For RCB Captain Rajat Patidar and Kohli to simply acknowledge the fans who suffered at the stampede last year would have been a magnanamous and heartening gesture, especially after a title triumph outside their home ground -- the Chinnaswamy was cleared to host five of RCB's seven home matches after a safety review was conducted by the government.
While RCB players celebrated in Ahmedabad, the franchise's fans in Bengaluru had to keep it quiet because of a security crackdown. The Bengaluru police strictly banned open-air public celebrations, bike rallies, firecrackers, and unapproved public screenings in the city for the IPL 2026 final.
This restriction was implemented to prevent crowd disasters following the tragic stampede in June 2025 during RCB's previous title win, which claimed 11 lives.
The Indian Premier League will continue to chug away, but by not making mention of the victims, RCB and Kohli are bound to receive some flak.
Kohli, the RCB, the BCCI and the IPL musn't forget that sport thrives so long as you have the supporters in your corner. For a club built on a loyal fanbase, remembering those who lost their lives celebrating the franchise's success should not be an afterthought.