What was already a disappointing night for the Gujarat Titans turned into a concerning safety incident as their team bus suffered a short circuit while ferrying players and support staff back to their hotel following the IPL 2026 final defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
It happened late night on Sunday as the players were immediately evacuated before any major issue. They were later taken to the hotel.
GT Players' Misery with Short Circuit in Bus
According to PTI, a short circuit led to smoke filling the bus, prompting an immediate evacuation of all onboard. The players and staff waited on the roadside for a short while before a replacement bus was arranged to complete the journey. Thankfully, everyone remained safe and unhurt.
The incident
added to an already tough evening for Shubman Gill's side, who posted a below-par total of 155/8 and lost by five wickets to RCB. Virat Kohli starred with an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls, guiding RCB to their second successive IPL title.
The bus scare came amid a demanding travel itinerary for GT. The team had journeyed from Dharamsala to Mullanpur for Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals on May 29, where they secured a spot in the final with a strong performance led by Gill and Sai Sudharsan.
Their scheduled flight to Ahmedabad on May 30 faced significant delays due to inclement weather in Mullanpur, forcing them to reach their home base only late on Saturday evening-giving them less than 24 hours to prepare for the summit clash.
Post-match, questions arose about whether fatigue played a role in GT's performance. GT Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki addressed this directly in the press conference, keeping the focus on RCB's strong showing.
"I don't want to take away from the fact that RCB have won by simply stating that we've had this number of games in these short days and we're fatigued and that's not really what we're about," he said.
