Former India head coach Rahul Dravid has expressed deep sorrow over the tragic stampede incident outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations. The incident led to the deaths of 11 people and injured over two dozen fans. Speaking to NDTV on Tuesday, Dravid called it a heartbreaking moment for Bengaluru, a city he described as passionate about sports. “Very disappointing. It's very sad. Bengaluru is a sports-passionate city. I come from here. People over here love all sports, not just cricket. They follow all the sports and also all the sporting teams, be it a football team or a kabaddi team. It's really heartbreaking that such an unfortunate incident happened. Our thoughts go out to everyone for unfortunately lost their lives and those who were injured,” Dravid said. Such a tragedy should not have happened,” he added.

RCB had secured their first-ever IPL title on June 3 with a win over Punjab Kings. Following the historic win, the franchise announced plans for a victory parade. Initially, police denied permission for the event. However, RCB later confirmed a celebration inside the stadium on June 4. What began as a moment of celebration turned into chaos as a stampede broke out outside the stadium. Crowds surged in large numbers, leading to a deadly situation.

Dravid, who once captained RCB, was associated with the IPL this year as the head coach of Rajasthan Royals. It was his first assignment after stepping down as India’s head coach last year.