The recent events following the 2025 Indian Premier League final must be viewed with greater sensitivity. It is important to mourn the loss of young lives—but even more important is to understand the causes behind the tragedy.
Most people consider the players, management, and franchise owners as the primary stakeholders of an IPL franchise. What often goes unnoticed are the marketing and promotion agencies operating behind the scenes. There is nothing legally or morally wrong in an agency promoting a team. The problem arises when such companies exert a vice-like grip on the image of the cricket franchise. Top IPL authorities, including the chairman, were quick to point out that the IPL Managing Committee and the BCCI had no role in the post-match celebrations of franchises. The Karnataka State Cricket Association also stated that it had no involvement in the roadshow organised to celebrate RCB’s victory.
Strangely, all information regarding the victory parade came from RCB’s marketing and revenue division. This is where the pettiness of a tournament like the IPL comes to the forefront. From a humanitarian point of view, it is difficult to understand the need for an instant celebratory roadshow. Usually, such events require careful planning—but not in this case.
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Promotion at all cost
IPL franchises are in the grip of promotion agencies eager to instantly capitalise on the euphoria of a team’s win. The economic agenda of these companies is driven purely by greed. They do not pause to consider the impact on the most important—and most powerless—stakeholder in Indian cricket: the fan.
A desperate attempt was made to stage a hasty victory roadshow. It’s not as if India is unaware of the dangers of crowd mismanagement and the risk of stampedes. What’s sinister here is that the greed to capitalise on victory was so overpowering that even the potential loss of lives was ignored.
There was absolutely no need for a rushed roadshow. The victory parade was announced without planning or consultation with local authorities or the police.
The abuse of money power is evident—private charters were used to fly the victorious team back to their home city. It was a desperate, last-minute attempt to cash in on the moment in the most inhuman and insensitive way.
The bitter truth about franchise cricket is that everything revolves around commerce.
It’s bizarre that the national anthem is played at a tournament that has nothing to do with the fortunes of cricketing nations. This, too, is the doing of marketing and promotion agencies whose sole aim is to boost the franchise’s brand value.
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Ignoring the cricket fan
The stampede in Bengaluru has made it clear: those managing the IPL want all the benefits without any accountability. No one wants to take responsibility for the tragic deaths of young, innocent cricket fans.
The IPL is a mega-rich tournament, and there is enough money inside the BCCI’s wallet. Yet the value of a die-hard cricket fan’s life is pegged at just Rs 10 lakh. This shows how little the authorities value the biggest stakeholder in Indian cricket—the fan. It exposes how brutal and insensitive both the state and cricketing authorities have become toward those who support the game most passionately. Instead of recognising the sinister role of marketing agencies, the authorities respond with routine monetary compensation.
Every tragedy is a chance to learn. This one should serve as an eye-opener for Indian cricket fans. Euphoria must not drive them into a frenzy. It’s unlikely that celebrity cricketers or franchise owners will visit the homes of those who died. The emotions that fans display for franchises are not reciprocated. The real villains are those who exploit every opportunity to enhance commercial brand value. These are the people who insisted on a hasty celebration and emotionally manipulated millions of RCB fans, packing them into a 40,000-capacity stadium without proper preparation or planning.
Kush Singh is a cricket writer who has closely followed the game over the past four decades. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)