Who Is Nikhil Sosale, Senior RCB Official Arrested Over Bengaluru Stampede Case?

The Bengaluru Police arrested senior Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) official Nikhil Sosale from the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru on Friday, June 6, 2025.  

Nikhil Sosale, who has been with RCB since 2012, has been arrested by the police over the Bengaluru stampede incident, which happened during the franchise's maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win celebrations on Wednesday. According to a Cricbuzz report, employees of DNA Entertainment Network, Kiran Kumar (Senior Event Manager) and Sunil Mathew (Vice President - Business Affairs), were also arrested by the Bengaluru police alongside Sosale.  

Notably, the move to arrest the officials of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and DNA Entertainment Network came following orders from Karnataka's chief minister Siddaramaiah as prima facie there was "irresponsibility" and "carelessness" on their part, and an FIR has also been registered. The decision was taken following the death of 11 people in a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru during RCB's maiden IPL title win celebrations on June 2.

Nikhil Sosale is the Head of Marketing & Revenue for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Diageo India. Nikhil's professional journey with RCB began in 2012 and he has held various pivotal roles over the years. According to his LinkedIn profile, Sosale leads the design, strategy, and delivery of the business and marketing charter of the leading brand and commercial program in the IPL.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Nikhil Sosale is a Double Major in Business from James Cook University, Australia. He pursued the degree from 2008 to 2010. Sosale is married to Malvika Nayak, who heads Innoz Technologies Pvt.Ltd's business development and partnerships department.  

Nikhil Sosale was seen in every RCB IPL match in the 2025 season. On a few occasions, he was seen sitting alongside Anushka Sharma in the stands as well.   

Nikhil Sosale, the RCB marketing head has a private Instagram profile. He has 637 followers on Instagram and is followed by both Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma.  

According to the Bar and Bench report, Nikhil Sosale, the Marketing and Revenue Head of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), has approached the Karnataka High Court to challenge his arrest relating to the Bengaluru stampede.

Sosale has argued that the manner of his arrest was unlawful, arbitrary, and violative of his fundamental rights. He has sought orders from the Court declaring his arrest as illegal and for releasing him from custody.

There has been no official statement or reaction from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) since the arrest has been made. Earlier on Thursday evening,  the franchise announced financial aid for families of the all 11 deceased in the stampede. They have also created an ‘RCB Cares’ fund to support the 33 others injured.