Rajasthan Royals is set to give its shares. Discarded IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiant’s owner is reportedly negotiating with an aim to retain his interest in the lucrative league. RPS’ two-year IPL contract has come to an end with the conclusion of this season.
Sanjeev Goenka, the franchise owner of RPS is keen to buy shares in Rajasthan Royals, who will return to the IPL after a two-year suspension.The RPS owner Goenka was recently in London. According to a recent report, Goenka has come to meet Manoj Badale, the ownership face of the Rajasthan Royals management. The London-based Badale hosts almost 40% shares of the RR franchise.
The presence of Raghu Iyer, the CEO of the Goenka’s sports wing, alongside Goenka has led to the rumours of the latter’s interest in Royals. Iyer knows the ownership of the Royals well having worked as a chief executive for the Royals management in the past. Goenka, though, wanted to keep secret.
“I have business here with close to 4000 people working in my firm. I have come for that purpose, I will also be visiting the India games in the Champions Trophy,” Goenka told.
Goenka, however, did not deny about his chances of seeing Badale. Royals reportedly are open to investors and are also in talks with big groups like the Jindals. But there is no word on if they would want to keep the control of the franchise. Suresh Chellaram holds the maximum shares of the franchise but isn’t an active member. He recently, due to a technical reason, transferred all his shares to his daughter, Amisha Hathiramani.
After getting suspended for a period of two years, the Rajasthan Royals are set to be back in the IPL in the next season. Seeing Goenka’s interest in cricket, he will definitely strengthen the talks with the RR management. But the question remains how much hold the new partner will be given.