In the first match of IPL 2026, played between hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28, 11 empty seats were spotted. RCB have kept 11 seats empty to mark respect toward 11 people who died in a stampede that occured during team's victory celebrations outside the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. (Screengrab from RCB video on X)
The vacant seats raised eyebrows, as tickets for RCB's home games are usually hard to get, making empty seats highly unusual. For the uninitiated, these empty seats symbolise the death of 11 people in a stampede last year during RCB’s victory parade outside the stadium.
Former Indian cricketer and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president Venkatesh Prasad had said on March 25 that the state board would keep 11 seats vacant for all IPL and international matches as a mark of respect.
Prasad added that a special prayer was held to pay homage to the RCB fans who lost their lives in the stampede.
“A special prayer was held at the KSCA to pay homage to the lives we lost and to assure their families that we care for them. We will keep 11 seats vacant and not sell them, whether for IPL or international matches,” Prasad told ANI.
RCB also posted a video on on X before the start of the match, stating the same. They also informed that all the players will be playing with number 11 on their back in the match against SRH and will also wear a black armband, to mark their respect towards the 11 fans who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident last year. The video was captioned as: “In the memory of our 11 dear fans. Etched into Chinnaswamy, forever part of our RCB family.”