India, March 28 -- 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.

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 specia...