The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has scheduled an emergency Apex Council meeting on June 14, one of the major agenda items of which is the drawing up of clear guidelines for Indian Premier League (IPL) teams for post-title celebrations. The decision follows a sad stampede in Bengaluru on June 4 that took 11 lives and injured over 50 as people celebrated Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) win.
The meeting agenda has on it “Discussion regarding IPL victory celebration and the need for formulation of norms,” an indication of how seriously the board is taking the matter.
The BCCI earlier had come down heavily on the mismanagement that caused the mayhem outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where thousands of RCB supporters had turned up. The board, however, still claimed that it did not have any role in event planning or organization, dissociating itself from the blame.
RCB had returned to a hero’s welcome in Bengaluru after defeating their maiden IPL crown. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had honored the team at the Vidhana Soudha, upon which the team went to the stadium for a fan interaction program.
In spite of initial protests by Bengaluru Traffic Police, who had refused permission citing anticipated traffic congestion—RCB went on to issue a celebratory bus procession from Vidhana Soudha to the ground. Even though the procession didn’t actually occur, the announcement had by then attracted an estimated two lakh people, leading to a stampede at the entrance of the venue.
The accident has triggered widespread backlash against RCB, the Karnataka State Cricket Association, and the state government for lack of planning and crowd management.
On Wednesday, the government of Karnataka told the High Court that RCB and the BCCI had not taken the required approvals for the celebration. The government of the state accused RCB’s extensive social campaign on the social media of having “invited the entire world” to the event, resulting in the large crowd. It also accused BCCI partly because there was an agreement between the board and the franchise related to security and gate management for the event.
Though the event was to be entry-by-pass only, the huge, uncontrolled crowd swept over the arrangements, triggering panic and leading to the deadly stampede.
As a reaction to the tragedy, RCB declared an ex gratia payment of ₹10 lakh to the families of each of the dead victims. On June 6, Nikhil Sosale, the marketing head of RCB, was arrested for his role in the incident.
Other Key Issues on the BCCI Agenda
Besides the post-IPL celebration, the protocols the Apex Council will discuss are quite a few.
The tour plan of New Zealand in India next year, with three One-Day Internationals and five T20 Internationals, is likely to be ratified.
The 2025–26 domestic cricket calendar is another significant item for discussion.
The Council will also examine an Ombudsman’s order regarding a complaint from Mr. V. Agam Rao, who has alleged financial irregularities in the use of funds allocated for cricket infrastructure in Telangana.
Revisions to the BCCI’s Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials are on the table, as well as discussions about the tournament allowance policy for board employees.
Further, the Council will consider draft amendments to Age Verification Programme (AVP) test rules and discuss the appointment of umpires’ and match referees’ coaches.
Tenders for player registration document verification and domestic match broadcast graphics services are also featured in the list of agenda items.
