‘Not worth 11 lives...’: Gautam Gambhir slams road show culture after IPL win celebration in Bengaluru turns deadly

Gautam Gambhir, India's head coach, didn’t mince words as he questioned the logic behind hosting road shows to celebrate cricketing triumphs. His remarks came a day after a stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory parade claimed 11 lives near the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Speaking ahead of India's England tour, Gambhir was asked about the tragedy and delivered a pointed response.

"Obviously that is a very important question and I need to answer that. I was never a believer that we need to have road shows. I had the same statement to make even after winning (the T20 World Cup) in 2007 that we should not have road shows," Gambhir told PTI.

Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014, noted that while the celebrations back then included state-led felicitation events at Eden Gardens, they didn’t spill onto the streets.

For him, safety trumps spectacle.

"I think lives of people are far more important and I will continue to say that. In future we can be little bit aware of not keeping these kind of road shows. We can probably have it in a closed door or something like in a stadium," he said. "It is very tragic what happened yesterday and my heart goes out to the families and people who lost their loved ones."

Pressed on whether cricket fandom has evolved, Gambhir said, "I can't say whether the fan base has increased or all that kind of stuff. All I can say is that we need to be responsible. We need to be responsible in every aspect of whether being a franchise or everything (else) because every life matters."

He also took aim at the apparent lack of planning around the parade. "If you were not ready to hold a road show, you shouldn't have done that. (It is) as simple as it can get."

While he acknowledged fans’ excitement, he stressed that the cost of misjudgment was too high. "I know fans do get excited. Everyone gets excited. The fan base gets excited. But nothing compared to what has happened recently. You cannot at any point of time lose 11 people," he told PTI.