At a time when most of the franchises are busy planning for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals are bracing up for new co-owners. With the twelfth edition of the league just a handful of months away, the owners of Rajasthan Royals have decided to sell 50% of their stakes of the franchise for a financial boost. The owners have already approached some key BCCI officials regarding the sale of the stakes and are looking for a suitable bidder.
Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural edition of the IPL under the captaincy of Shane Warne, despite being written off as a title contender by the majority. They were also the runners-up of the 2013 Champions League Twenty20 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy. But their impressive run in the game came to an abrupt halt in 2015 when the Supreme Court suspended them and Chennai Super Kings for two years over a corruption and match fixing scandal. The Royals returned to the competition for the 2018 season and made an instant impression by making it to the playoffs.
The Royals owners are now willing to welcome new co-owners to bolster the finances of the franchise. Manoj Badale is currently the principal owner of Rajasthan Royals.
“Yes, Rajasthan Royals are selling a major part of their stakes and the highest bidder will be getting it. What we have heard is that it is around fifty percent and some of the biggest business houses in the country are apparently interested in buying stakes,” a senior BCCI official privy to the development told was quoted as saying by PTI.
According to a PTI report, Sanjeev Goenka, a former IPL franchise owner and the owner of ATK in the Indian Super League is one of the leading contenders to buy stakes in Rajasthan Royals. Goenka was the owner of the Rising Pune Supergiants, who played for two seasons in the IPL when Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings were banned.
“Mr Goenka has always been interested in coming back after he had a fairly good but short stint in the IPL. His team made it to the finals in one of the years. Let’s wait and watch how it all pans out,” the official said.
Meanwhile, this year’s Indian Premier League will get underway on March 23. The tournament will also be played in India despite the upcoming general elections. The BCCI is yet to announce the full schedule of the league and is likely to announce it by the first week of February.