Mumbai, Jun 5: India's head coach Gautam Gambhir was on Thursday scathing in his criticism of everyone involved in organising Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL victory celebrations, which led to the death of 11 fans due to stampede. Gambhir, who has been part of two IPL title-winning celebrations in Kolkata and also during India's 2007 T20 World Cup winning campaign, urged everyone to be "responsible citizens" and not conduct a function when people are not ready for it. Bengaluru Stampede: RCB Announce INR 10 Lakh Each for Families of Deceased After Tragedy Hits IPL 2025 Victory Celebrations.

"I was never a believer of having a road show. Even in 2007, I was not in favour of that. Have it in a closed door or in a stadium. I hope nothing like this happens in the future," Gambhir told reporters during the team's pre-departure press conference for the England tour. Gambhir didn't wish to comment on who was responsible or whether the nature of fandom had changed over the years. Bengaluru Stampede: List Containing Names of Those Who Died in Crowd Crush at Chinnaswamy Stadium Released.

"We need to be responsible citizens, in every aspect, of whether being a franchise. If we we were not ready to hold a road show, shouldn't have done that. You can't lose 11 people," he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)