Atul Wassan opened up on the unfortunate stampede incident which took place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s (RCB) victory celebrations following their maiden IPL (Indian Premier League) title win. The former Indian cricketer could not believe that the event went ahead despite the tragic incident, which has so far led to a death toll of 11 and injuries to 33 people.
Wassan expressed disbelief that people were in distress outside the stadium while the event continued inside. He refused to believe that players, including Virat Kohli, were aware of the incident. He felt politicians and the RCB franchise would have continued the event regardless, deeming them to be ruthless and thick-skinned.
“I cannot believe in a million years that Virat Kohli knew that people were dying outside and the felicitation was going on inside. The politicians, I can believe, because they’re ruthless, thick-skinned, and so is the corporate, which is the RCB franchise,” Wassan said in an interview as per NDTV.
The franchisees don’t care because they have to show balance sheets: Wassan
People who attended the event faced several challenges while entering the stadium. Police and other security personnel were unable to control the highly excited fans, and a spell of rain led to chaos. Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and others later took to social media to address the issue. However, it came far too late after the incident.
Fans don’t let Virat Kohli speak during trophy celebration
Wassan added that the franchise does not care about the lives of people and only focuses on balance sheets and revenues. He felt RCB might have known about the incident and chose not to inform the players during the event. He claimed Virat and others would have walked out if they had known about the situation.
“The franchisees don’t care because they have to show the balance sheets, and they have to show revenue. They would have known, maybe. It was a lack of communication. By the time Virat and the players had gotten to know, they didn’t have any say in it. If Virat had known, he would have immediately walked out. I cannot believe that Virat knew and this has happened,” Wassan concluded.
