RCB to wear black armbands vs SRH in memory of lives lost during last year's stampede at M Chinnaswamy

RCB will honour the 11 fans who lost their lives in last year's stampede during the IPL 2026 opener by wearing black armbands and special jerseys.

Published on: Mar 28, 2026, 17:12:24 IST

Written by Probuddha Bhattacharjee

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru will begin their IPL 2026 campaign with a tribute to the 11 supporters who lost their lives in the stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the team’s title celebrations last year. As reported by ANI, RCB players will wear black armbands during their season opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bengaluru on Saturday, turning the match into an occasion marked as much by remembrance as by the start of a new season.

The tribute is part of a wider memorial plan linked to RCB’s return to their home venue after months of scrutiny and safety review. Players are also set to wear practice jerseys carrying the number 11 during the warm-up, while 11 seats at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium will remain permanently unoccupied in memory of those who died. The gestures are intended to ensure that the fans who lost their lives remain part of the club’s story even as cricket returns to the ground.

The tragedy had cast a long shadow over cricket in Bengaluru. Eleven people were killed and several others were injured in the stampede that followed RCB’s victory celebrations on June 4, 2025. The incident sparked serious questions about crowd management and stadium safety, and halted major cricket activity at one of the country’s most recognisable venues.

Stadium cleared after review, upgrades and fresh approvals

Cricket at Chinnaswamy was suspended from June 2025, with the fallout extending well beyond the IPL. Events, including the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup and the KSCA Maharaja Trophy, had to be shifted because of safety concerns. The stadium also missed out on hosting matches in this year’s T20 World Cup cycle, underlining the scale of the disruption caused by the incident.

The Karnataka cabinet approved hosting IPL matches at the venue in February following recommendations from a government-appointed expert committee. In March, the Karnataka State Cricket Association received permission from Home Minister G. Parmeshwara to stage IPL 2026 matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium, including playoff and final fixtures.

Before that, clearance was granted, and the KSCA completed the first phase of safety and infrastructure work as suggested by the police, the Public Works Department, the fire force, and medical authorities. Those measures included widening gates, improving exit areas and strengthening medical emergency arrangements in and around the stadium.

An expert committee led by Maheshwar Rao later inspected the venue and approved the changes, paving the way for Chinnaswamy Stadium’s return as a full-capacity IPL venue. The stadium has now been cleared to host matches with its full crowd strength of 33,000.

That gives RCB’s opener against SRH an emotional significance beyond cricket. The black armbands, the number 11 warm-up jerseys and the permanently vacant seats will stand as visible reminders of a tragedy that remains fresh in Bengaluru’s sporting memory.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Probuddha Bhattacharjee
Probuddha Bhattacharjee is a sports writer and analyst with expertise spanning cricket, football, and multi-sport events, with a strong emphasis on data-driven journalism and tactical storytelling. He currently focuses on international cricket, the Indian Premier League, global tournaments, and emerging trends shaping modern sport, blending advanced statistics with strong narrative context to explain performance, strategy, and decision-making. His work aims to bridge the gap between numbers and storytelling, helping readers understand not just what happened on the field, but the tactical and structural reasons behind it. Trained in data journalism through the Google News Initiative (GNI) Data Journalism Lab, Probuddha works extensively with ball-by-ball datasets, performance metrics, and trend-based modelling to produce evidence-backed reports, explainers, and long-form features. His analytical approach focuses not only on outcomes but also on process—selection strategies, phase-wise tactics, workload management, and the influence of preparation and planning on match results. He is particularly interested in how statistical patterns reshape conventional cricketing narratives and provide clearer tactical insight for modern audiences. Beyond cricket, Probuddha has written analytical and news-driven pieces on football and other major sporting events, with a growing interest in sports governance, scheduling dynamics, and the economics of elite competitions. He also tracks how rule changes, franchise structures, and broadcast pressures influence the evolution of contemporary sport. He has previously contributed to platforms such as OneCricket, Sportskeeda, and CrickTracker, and continues to specialise in analytical storytelling, live coverage, and audience-focused reporting. His work prioritises clarity, context, and credibility, while consistently exploring innovative ways to present data through accessible narratives and structured match analysis.Read More

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