Two IPL titles in a row, and two WPL titles in three years. The only team to hold both cups at the same time. A highly effective social media strategy, with nearly 39 million followers across YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Pioneers across multiple revenue opportunities, from RCB Unbox to the RCB Cafe.
As a long-suffering fan, I have to admit that the current RCB management is objectively good at their job.
June 4, 2025 was a bad day. The worst sporting tragedy in India for a quarter of a century. There have been no legal consequences yet – beyond having to renovate some gate entrances at the Chinnaswamy – but it’s fair to assume that RCB are not going to get caught up. If there ever is a scapegoat, it will come from elsewhere.
I believe this is because RCB has navigated treacherous waters very carefully. They carefully negotiated the release of the marketing and event management staff who were initially arrested, and they kept mum as the state government penalised the local state association (KSCA) by shutting down the stadium.
Then, in a brazen but effective move, RCB threatened to move their IPL games away from Bangalore two months before the 2026 season. It put the onus on the newly elected KSCA board – the old ones lost the election because of the Chinnaswamy closure – to fix everything within a tiny window.
The KSCA duly disassembled their spine, shipped it to the moon, and contorted themselves into a shape that a pretzel would find painful. They did their best to fulfill both RCB’s and the government’s increasingly ridiculous demands. Anyone remember KSCA boss Venkatesh Prasad’s photo op with the chief minister after giving away thousands of tickets on the eve of the IPL campaign?
In the end, the government got their seats. The RCB management got a record-breaking $1.78 billion sale, and the KSCA got their IPL games back. Well, some of them. Two matches were played in Raipur – a city that is a 24-hour car journey away from Bangalore.
Which brings me to my own conflicted feelings. The fans got crushed in the parade. The fans missed out on a year’s worth of games at the Chinnaswamy. RCB and the government got rewarded for their actions, while the fans got punished with two fewer IPL games – and the loss of the final.
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I am an RCB fan. That’s never going to change. I can’t suddenly start supporting another team. But, the last 12 months have been disconcerting.
I wasn’t as excited about the IPL season as I usually am. I’m happy with the back-to-back championships, but I’m not ecstatic. There’s a cloud of disillusionment and disconnect that is refusing to dissipate.
So, I got curious and ran an anonymous poll to answer a simple question; what do other RCB fans think of the team’s actions over the last 12 months?
This was a poll aimed to understand what fans think of RCB, but my first learning was that people across the spectrum think our elected authorities were at fault. No matter what filter you put in – age, gender, geography – the majority blames the government.
The choice to co-opt the celebrations with a photo opportunity made everything worse. As one Bangalore-based respondent put it, “I strongly feel that the unfortunate events of that day were a result of the government intervening and using RCB winning as an occasion to prop themselves up.”
The feelings towards RCB were more divided, but the criticisms were largely about their actions after the parade.
The complaints ranged from the lack of communication with fans, a lack of empathy for the families of the dead, the PR-first tribute a year later (“leaving 11 seats empty is just lip service”), and even some personal anger at the lack of acknowledgement from the players.
Interestingly, the parade blowback does seem to be seen as a problem with the Men’s team primarily. While most people agreed that their fandom of the Men’s and Women’s players has not changed, 26% of people said they care less about the former versus just 5% about the latter.
However, RCB also had its share of defenders. One respondent was happy with their decision to build a memorial plaque, while another balanced his criticism of the franchise with an acknowledgement that the RCB Cares fund did aid the victims’ families.
One respondent took it further, and was unhappy with the lack of personal responsibility at the parade. Presumably, the 26.2% of people who blamed the fans had a similar thought process.
One of the more interesting takeaways from this poll though was that the KSCA are largely seen as the good guys. The new board, led by Prasad with advisory support from popular players like Anil Kumble, are appreciated for bringing cricket back to Bangalore.
Preetham Karigar runs Namma Team RCB, one of the team’s larger fan groups with 730,000 followers across social media platforms. Although he personally thinks RCB are not at fault and the government is to blame for the parade chaos, he only has praise for the KSCA; “They [the new board] have done very good work…we see them for that.”
The poll respondents agreed; not a single person blamed the KSCA for the parade deaths.
Last July, Yash Dayal was accused in multiple cases of sexual assault – including one against a minor. Soon after, his state association banned him from playing in their local T20 league.
Meanwhile, RCB retained him in November and only put him on gardening leave a week before the IPL started. Dayal is still on their books, and believes the team has long-term plans for him.
“They [RCB] haven’t even announced a replacement because maybe they still see me as part of the squad,” he said on a podcast appearance recently. “There is communication with the management. Sometimes they call me, sometimes I call them. I speak with the director, and I also stay in touch with DK [Dinesh Karthik].”
If there is one conclusive takeaway from this poll, it’s that RCB have underestimated the sentiment against this decision. 61% of respondents were unhappy with the retention, and the number doesn’t move when filtered for age or gender.
Unlike the parade question that engendered slight disillusionment and detachment, the Dayal decision has caused visceral reactions.
One respondent said the retention “has made me really question if I want to have anything to do with this franchise anymore.” Another said, “I get supporting your players but retaining a POCSO [minor abuse]/rape accused is highly questionable.”
On the other hand, one respondent represented the view that RCB are possibly hoping for; “Retaining Dayal was a dumbass move strategically, but can be understood as putting an arm around a mate in a time of need – this is how you engender a culture of loyalty.”
As expected, local fans are the most affected by the venue shift. One respondent who had no problems with RCB’s handling of Dayal or the parade said, “RCB shouldn’t have agreed to play 2 home games at Raipur.”
Additionally, the record-breaking RCB sale just before the IPL was largely seen as a positive, or irrelevant. 41% of respondents were excited about the new owners, 46% didn’t care, and only 13% were against it.
The enthusiasm at the change seems to stem from frustration with the old owners; one respondent said, “RCB played a PR game and owners washed their hands off [by] selling,” while another simply criticised the “uninterested ownership.”
Although, there was one respondent after my own heart with a very specific worry that I (and about 3 other fans!) hold.
Last year, I wrote a piece 24 hours after attending the RCB parade. The anger and sadness and fear were still palpable and at the surface. My brain was struggling as I tried to comprehend what was happening.
“None of it makes sense. I’m getting lost and straying away from what I’m actually feeling. Because what I’m feeling is broken. It’s a ringing gong somewhere in a deep recess of my brain, refusing to let me think straight.”
That gong has become easier to ignore with time, but it hasn’t stopped ringing. As the IPL buildup started, it came back. It’s been ringing for a couple of months now. Nothing I can’t ignore with enough concentration, and nothing that stops me from appreciating RCB’s unprecedented run of on-field success.
But, it was still there, ringing away and distracting me like a phone under a couch pillow in an adjoining room. It was just enough to keep me distracted from the actual joy I should’ve been feeling.
I talk in the past tense, because going through the responses for this poll has helped a lot. Reading that other people thought like me and felt like me helped. Learning that I wasn’t alone helped.
And, it wasn’t just the positive responses.
One respondent called me an “angry immature man looking for someone to blame” by putting out this poll. Another said that “people like you” are always trying to undermine RCB. A third was so angry with me, she filled out the entire questionnaire just to let me know she would be unsubscribing from Best of Cricket.
I get it. Sports fandom inspires intense emotions. I’m glad it does. I would much rather live in a reality where I’m angry and sad and frustrated by RCB than one where I don’t care.
One of the poll questions asked whether the respondents had ever been disillusioned by RCB before the parade disaster. As one fan put it, “Haha! I’d be lying if I said no. Multiple times!” When Vijay Mallya fled, when RCB lost finals in 2009 and 2016, when RCB endured a miserable run of decision-making between 2018-2022.
But, they always came back. Because supporting RCB is not just about sticking around when things go right. As cheesy a line as it is, and as much as it plays into the team’s gimmicky marketing – RCB are family.
Not the administration, not the coaches, not even the players. The idea, and the community. The shared joy and loss, and the memories that can never be replaced. And, like any real family, you point out when someone screws up. Then, you stick around to help them fix it.
