“Heartbreaking indeed” - Sunil Gavaskar on loss of lives during RCB IPL title celebrations

Former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has opened up on the stampede, which took the lives of 11 people during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL title celebrations at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Speaking about the incident, Gavaskar stated that it was completely heartbreaking. He added that their celebrations should have been a lot less frenetic, following other teams that won IPL titles in the previous years

“What a tragedy? The loss of lives due to a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium is heartbreaking indeed. All that those people wanted was a glimpse of the players who had given them so much joy and happiness over the years, especially in the last two months. The IPL Trophy, which they kept hoping would be theirs every year but never did, was finally coming to them after a wait of 18 years,” Gavaskar wrote in his Mid-day column.

“If RCB had won the Trophy in the first few years, there would not have been this outpouring of emotion as happened after the long wait of 18 years. Other teams have won but their celebrations have been a lot less frenetic maybe because their fans didn’t have to wait this long. The slogan ‘Ee saala cup naamde’ seemed to be like a millstone around the necks of the team. This year, when that slogan was barely heard, the team played some superb cricket, most of it away from their fans,” Gavaskar added.

Moreover, he talked about RCB winning all games that they played away from their team, which was a new record in IPL. Before concluding his column, Gavaskar had sent his heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.

“They won every single game they played away, which is a new record in the IPL. No wonder the home fans wanted to give them a special ovation. Heartfelt condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Prayers of the fans can change fortunes, and there’s no doubt that the prayers of their loved ones made a contribution to bringing that elusive Cup to Bengaluru,” Gavaskar concluded.

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