RCB captain Patidar posts celebratory photos hours after Chinnaswamy stampede

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL-winning captain Rajat Patidar posted a few celebratory photographs on his Instagram handle just hours after a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium killed 11 fans. The deceased were among the thousands that could not enter the stadium where Patidar and his RCB teammates celebrated their maiden IPL triumph.

Patidar posted a carousel of three photographs of himself posing with the IPL trophy alongside Virat Kohli, Jitesh Sharma and head coach Andy Flower. He captioned it, "savouring the winning feeling like".

Though several followers appreciated the post, many others called out their captain for his untimely and incompassionate post. A few hours ago, RCB's official handle had posted a celebratory video, featuring the team's bus ride from the airport to the Bengaluru City earlier on the day. That post was, however, removed following social media backlash.

Earlier, it emerged that RCB's IPL-winning celebrations went ahead inside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium even as the stampede took place outside the gates. Photographs and video clips of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar sharing the dais with Kohli, Patidar and other RCB players inside the stadium have surfaced.

Meanwhile, the RCB released a statement claiming they wrapped up the programme as soon as the news of the tragedy came out. "Immediately upon being made aware of the situation, we promptly amended our program and followed the guidance and advice of the local administration," the RCB said in the statement.

"RCB mourns the tragic loss of lives and extend our heartfelt condolences to the affected families," the club added. RCB had ended an 18-year wait for their maiden IPL title by defeating Punjab Kings by six runs in the final in Ahmedabad on June 3.