Players stranded on road for an hour
Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans’ dream of winning the IPL 2026 title was dashed by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bengaluru defeated Gujarat by five wickets in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday night. May 31 was a disappointing day for Gujarat on the field, but what followed was even more worrying. The cricketers’ lives were at risk while returning from the Narendra Modi Stadium after the defeat. Their team bus caught fire due to short circuit. The incident left the cricketers stranded on the road for nearly an hour.
The cricketers and support staff were immediately evacuated and are all safe. Things have been pretty tense for Gujarat Titans in the last few days. Their arrival in Ahmedabad was delayed by bad weather in northwest India before the final. Gujarat Titans’ chartered flight was delayed by nearly three hours due to heavy rain and storm and the team reached Ahmedabad late on Saturday night. The captain’s photoshoot between Shubman Gill and Rajat Patidar was also postponed due to this delay.
In the last five days, Gujarat has had just enough time to rest. They lost to RCB in the first qualifier at the Dharamsala Stadium on 26 May. They left for Chandigarh the next day, faced Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier at the new PCA International Stadium in Mullanpur on 29 May, and then left for Ahmedabad for the final on the third day. However, they arrived late due to bad weather. This gave them less than 24 hours to prepare for the final.