RCB to honour stampede victims, set to leave 11 empty seats at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in memory of the fans
In a moving moment from the IPL’s (Indian Premier League) defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the franchise will be honouring the 11 fans who lost their lives in the Bengaluru stampede back in June 2025. It is worth noting that the title celebration parade was planned back on June 4, 2025, which quickly turned tragic for the fans.
11 people lost their lives in the tragedy, and to honour them, RCB announced that they will be honouring the lives lost by permanently reserving 11 seats at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium that will be left empty as a reminder of the lives lost and keeping the fans with them forever.
Furthermore, the players will be wearing the number 11 jersey in training before the season opener of the tournament against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28. The players will also don a black armband on the day of the clash as well.
RCB CEO Rajesh Menon reflected on the same
Speaking in the pre-tournament press conference, Royal Challengers Bengaluru CEO Rajesh Menon came forward and weighed in on the same, revealing that the 11 seats will be left empty, and the players will be donning the jersey number 11 and a black armband.
“In memory of the 11 fans that we lost on June 4th, the players will be wearing jersey number 11 before the match during practice, and all the players will have the jersey number 11 on their backs. They will also be wearing a black armband on the day,” Rajesh Menon said in the pre-tournament press conference.
“We are also looking at having 11 permanent seats empty at the Chinnaswamy Stadium forever. This is for the 11 fans who will be with us forever,” he added.
