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Rahul Dravid called the tragic Bengaluru stampede “very disappointing” and “heartbreaking.”
Rahul Dravid has spoken on the Bengaluru Stampede tragedy. (AP Photo)
Batting legend and former India head coach Rahul Dravid has called the tragic Bengaluru Stampede ‘very disappointing’ and ‘heartbreaking’, which should never have happened.
11 people died and over 40 were left injured outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s victory celebrations for their maiden IPL title after 18 years. An FIR has been registered at the Cubbon Park Police Station, which has named RCB, event manager DNA Entertainment, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) management, and others.
The investigation is ongoing while Nikhil Sosale, RCB’s marketing head, was arrested on June 6. KSCA secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam have resigned taking ‘moral responsibility’, while some police officials have also been suspended.
“Very disappointing,” Dravid, one of the biggest names of Karnataka cricket and a former RCB captain, told NDTV. “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. Such a tragedy shouldn’t have happened,” he added.
Royal Challengers Sports Limited (RCSL), which owns the IPL franchise, has since moved to the Karnataka High Court to quash the criminal case against it. The company is arguing that it has been falsely implicated. The Bengaluru police have said that RCB’s social media post inviting people by offering free entry worsened the situation, whereas the franchise is saying that it made it clear that passes were limited and needed registration.
Sosale’s case was heard on Tuesday (June 10) but the hearing was deferred to June 11.
The issue has become a national subject with political barbs being exchanged daily. However, according to the news website, Dravid refused to blame either the government or the franchise.
Dravid is currently coaching the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. While RCB won the title, RR finished second from the bottom, having failed to find any consistency throughout the tournament.
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses, features, live scores, results, stats and everything that’s cricket from all over the globe. Follow @cricketnext
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