devajit saikia

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) maiden IPL celebration win was marred by the loss of 11 lives, which happened due to the stampede during the victory celebrations that occurred outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Thirty-three people were also left injured, and taking notice of this incident, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to constitute a three-member committee to formulate comprehensive guidelines aimed at preventing such occurrences in the future. BCCI forms a three-member committee after the Bengaluru stampede, with guidelines for victory celebrations to be issued after 15 days. (HT_PRINT) The three-member committee comprises BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, vice-president Rajeev Shukla, and treasurer Prabhtej Bhatia. Saikia will chair this committee. The guidelines for victory celebrations will be formulated within the next 15 days. This decision was taken during the board’s Apex Council Meeting on Saturday.  “The Apex Council expressed its profound grief over the tragic incidents in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, which led to the unfortunate loss of innocent lives,” the BCCI said in an official release.  “The committee will formulate the guidelines within 15 days,” the statement added.  RCB had previously won the IPL 2025 edition after beating Punjab Kings in the final by six runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After winning the T20 tournament, Virat Kohli on air announced that the franchise would hold victory celebrations in Bengaluru. The Bengaluru Police denied the permission for the open-bus parade. However, the team was first felicitated at the Vidhana Soudha by Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. As soon as the team reached the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, news of a stampede broke out, which killed 11 RCB fans.  Also Read: BCCI to take action after 11 killed in RCB IPL celebration stampede; decision likely on… RCB are receiving a lot of flak for holding victory celebrations in a hurry. RCB marketing and revenue head Nikhil Sosale was also arrested but days later, he was given interim bail. However, he was asked to submit his passport and not travel overseas.  Venues for India versus New Zealand white-ball series The Board has also announced venues for the limited-overs series between India and New Zealand, beginning January 11, 2026. The three ODIs will be played in Baroda, Rajkot and Indore. The five T20Is will be played in Nagpur, Raipur, Guwahati, Vizag and Trivandrum. The fifth and final T20I will be played on January 31, 2026. When will the domestic season begin?  The BCCI have also confirmed that the 2025–26 domestic will begin with the Duleep Trophy on August 28 and conclude with the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal Multi-Day Trophy.  The Ranji Trophy would be played in two phases. The Elite Phase 1 will begin on October 15 and will run up to November 19. The Phase 2 will run from January 22, 2026 to February 1. The knockouts will begin on February 6 while the final will be played from February 28. Plate Phase 1 will begin on October 15 and run until November 19. The knockouts will begin on January 22, and the final will be played on January 26. The Duleep Trophy and Senior Women’s Challenger tournaments will now be contested between six zonal teams selected by zonal selectors. Plate Group restructuring has been introduced across age categories. For limited-overs tournaments, the bottom 6 teams (based on the previous season’s rankings) will be placed in the Plate Group. The BCCI has also introduced the relegation and promotion system. From now on, only one team will be promoted and relegated in each Senior Men’s competition.  The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Senior Women’s T20 Trophy will now include a Super League stage instead of a traditional knockout. Major tournaments, such as the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Senior Women’s One Day Trophy, and Men’s U23 State A Trophy, will follow a 4 Elite Groups + 1 Plate Group model. Most junior and women’s tournaments (U16, U19, U23) have moved to a 5 Elite + 1 Plate group structure.