It has been a glorious year for the underdogs across all walks of sports. Therefore, when Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first-ever IPL title this season, it felt like poetic justice. Especially because it happened in the 18th season of the tournament, a hint of destiny with 18 being Virat Kohli's jersey number as well. The veteran had been yearning for the IPL title all these years and finally, his dream had come true.
However, RCB could barely celebrate their moment of glory as tragedy struck in the most cruel form. Their victory celebrations that were planned at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium went awry, leading to a major stampede issue that caused injuries to thousands of people and also saw unfortunate deaths as well. What followed was a deadlock between the Karnataka Government, Karnataka State Cricket Association and the RCB franchise with the state government also imposing a ban on the M Chinnaswamy stadium until further notice. Since the stampede issue, RCB's social media team also went off the radar with no posts thereafter.
However, on Thursday (August 28), after a gap of 84 days, RCB's social media accounts resumed posting with a major announcement. While more details are awaited, the post involved the announcement of 'RCB Cares', an initiative for the families of the victims of the stampede. It must be noted that the RCB franchise had previously announced a compensation of ₹10 lakhs for the familes of the victims. While RCB Cares has also been framed for a similar objective, this has been an initiative moulded by the franchise and fans in unison.
“It’s been close to three months since we last posted here. The Silence wasn’t Absence. It was Grief," wrote the RCB official account on X.
"This space was once filled with energy, memories and moments that you enjoyed the most.. But June 4th changed everything. That day broke our hearts, and the silence since then has been our way of holding space. In that silence, we’ve been grieving. Listening. Learning. And slowly, we’ve begun to build something more than just a response. Something we truly believe in.”
“That’s how RCB CARES came to life. It grew out of a need to honour, to heal, and to stand beside our fans. A platform for meaningful action shaped by our community & fans. We return to this space today, not with celebration but with care. To share. lo stand with you. lo walk forward, together. To continue being the pride or Karnataka. RCB CARES. And we always will. More details soon…”
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Currently, the RCB franchise is in the eye of a storm with the Karnataka Government having openly blamed the franchise for the stampede issue. The KSCA also stands derailed in this controversy and had to move the matches of the Maharaja T20 League from Bengaluru to Mysuru for this season. In addition, the matches scheduled to be held during the Women's ODI World Cup next month were also moved due to the ongoing standoff.
Time heals everything is how the saying goes and hopefully, a resolution is found on the Chinnaswamy issue. A closure in the standoff between the Karnataka Government and RCB will go a long way in achieving that.