"Happiest day turned into something tragic"- Virat Kohli finally breaks silence on stampede deaths during RCB's victory parade after IPL 2025 win

Virat Kohli paid tribute to the victims on Instagram.

Three months after the tragic incident, Indian batter Virat Kohli finally broke the silence on the Bengaluru stampede incident. After Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on June 3, they organised victory celebrations at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

However, due to mismanagement and overcrowding, a stampede occurred near a gate of the stadium. 11 people lost their lives and over 40 were injured in the incident.

After the incident, the franchise gave compensation to the families of the victims and medical assistance to the injured people. Recently, RCB announced Rs. 25 lakh each for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

Virat Kohli pays tribute to victims of Bengaluru stampede

RCB have shared a post on Instagram in which Kohli paid condolences to the victims of the Bengaluru stampede.

“Nothing in life really prepares you for a heartbreak like June 4th. What should’ve been the happiest moment in our franchise’s history… turned into something tragic,” he said.

“I’ve been thinking of and praying for the families of those we lost… and for our fans who were injured. Your loss is part of our story now. Together, we will move forward with care, respect and responsibility,” he added.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@royalchallengers.bengaluru)

After the incident, Bengaluru police launched an investigation into the matter and also made a few arrests. A report submitted over the incident termed Chinnaswamy Stadium unfit to hold large crowd events.

Recently, the stadium was not given permission by the authorities to host the matches of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. As a result, it was removed as one of the venues for the tournament.

Meanwhile, RCB won their first title in IPL 2025 by defeating PBKS by six runs in the final. Kohli, with 657 runs in 15 games, finished as the leading run-scorer of his team and third-highest in the league.

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