The home of the IPL 2025 champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, has been deemed unsafe to host any large-scale events by the judicial probe panel set up after the deadly stampede in June this year.
The stadium's infrastructure is insufficient to handle large crowds, particularly given the June 4 tragedy during RCB's victory celebration, according to the judicial report filed by Justice John Michael D'Cunha.
Eleven people were killed and numerous others were injured in the incident, which was caused by overcrowding and inadequate planning. The Karnataka government has now formally approved the commission's findings, which were established to look into the stampede and its causes.
"The design and structure of the stadium were unsuitable and unsafe for mass gatherings. All the entry and exit gates opened directly into the footpath. Spacious and organized holding areas for the crowd were not provided at the entry.
As a result, the audience was forced to queue up on the footpath or road (obstructing) and endangering pedestrians and vehicular movement as well as giving scope for miscreants to join the crowd and aggravating the risk, especially in the absence of proper security,” the report stated, as per ESPNCricinfo.
The importance of future sites meeting international safety standards was again underlined in the report: “Any future venue should adhere to international standards.”
Between September and November 2025, the Women's ODI World Cup opening match, semi-final, and possibly final are among the "high-attendance" events that will take place at Chinnaswamy Stadium.
As of right now, the state's franchise-based T20 competition, the Maharaja Trophy, which begins on August 11, will take place behind closed doors, according to the KSCA.
The panel also recommended action against RCB vice-president Rajesh Menon, DNA Entertainment Networks MD T Venkat Vardhan, VP Sunil Mathur, and KSCA chief Raghuram Bhat, former secretary A Shankar, and former treasurer ES Jairam, who both resigned citing "moral responsibility" in the wake of the incident.
It also said that police officers B. Dayananda, Vikash Kumar, Shekhar H.T., C. Balakrishna, and A.K. Girish—all of whom were removed from their posts by the chief minister after the incident—were responsible for being part of the arrangement.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
