Lalit Modi set for IPL comeback? Ex-Chairman denies reports of buying Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals are majority owned by Manoj Badale’s Emerging Media Ventures

The sale of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) appears to be moving towards its final stages, with global investment bank The Raine Group overseeing the process.

The same firm previously handled the high-profile sales of Manchester United and Chelsea FC. For RR, the process is reportedly being conducted at a floor valuation of around US$1.1 billion, underlining the continuing financial strength of the Indian Premier League (IPL) ecosystem.

According to people familiar with the process, the involved parties are expected to meet on Monday, 16 March, to discuss the next phase and determine how the sale will proceed.

Current ownership structure of Rajasthan Royals

The franchise is currently owned by a mix of investors led by venture capitalist Manoj Badale through Emerging Media Ventures.

Ownership breakdown:

• Manoj Badale / Emerging Media Ventures – 65%
• RedBird Capital Partners – 15%
• Lachlan Murdoch – 13%
• Individual minority stakeholders (Ian McKinnon, Kal Somani, Simer Mayo, Mihir Patel) – 7%

Four groups shortlisted in the bidding race of RR

After a detailed evaluation process, Raine Group has reportedly shortlisted four bidding groups:

1. Consortium led by Aditya Birla Group and David Blitzer
2. Consortium led by Times Internet Chairman Satyan Gajwani
3. Consortium led by Kal Somani
4. Consortium led by Adar Poonawalla

At the same time, a parallel sale process is underway for the defending IPL champion, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Several investors, including the David Blitzer Group and Adar Poonawalla, are believed to have shown interest there as well.

IPL’s rising financial power

Over the last decade, the IPL has grown into one of the most valuable sports leagues globally. Only the National Football League in the United States currently sits clearly above it in terms of commercial valuation.

The league’s media rights for the 2023–2027 cycle were sold for roughly $6.2 billion, a deal that significantly strengthened its financial position and cemented the IPL’s status as a dominant force in global sports entertainment.

Aditya Birla–Blitzer consortium enters race to buy RR

As previously reported by Moneycontrol, the Aditya Birla Group has teamed up with David Blitzer’s investment group to submit a joint binding bid for the Rajasthan Royals stake.

Blitzer already has a strong presence in global sport, holding stakes across several clubs in football and basketball.

Satyan Gajwani’s growing sports portfolio

Another contender, Times Internet chairman Satyan Gajwani, has also been building a portfolio in global cricket investments.

He holds a 49% stake in London Spirit, one of the franchises in The Hundred, through a consortium led by cybersecurity executive Nikesh Arora. Gajwani is also among the founding investors behind Major League Cricket in the United States.

The Somani consortium angle

US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani is another figure closely watching the Rajasthan Royals process. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Somani has spent over two decades building businesses across technology, education and sport. Lalit Modi is likely advising the Consortium led by Somani.**

He also entered IPL in 2021 by acquiring a minority stake in the Rajasthan Royals.

According to sources familiar with the bidding process, Somani has sought advice from IPL chairman Lalit Modi to explore a potential bid for Rajasthan Royals.

Lalit Modi and the IPL story

Whatever one thinks about Lalit Modi today, it’s hard to talk about modern cricket economics without mentioning his name.

Back in the mid-2000s, the Indian cricket administration still worked very differently. It was slower, committee-driven, and commercial thinking around the sport wasn’t nearly as aggressive as it is now. Modi pushed a completely different idea, a city-based franchise league with private owners, big television deals and players from around the world.

That idea became the Indian Premier League in 2008. The format clicked almost immediately. Franchises, auctions, centralised media rights, prime-time cricket — it all came together at the right time. Within a few seasons, the IPL had become the biggest commercial property in cricket and a model that other leagues around the world began to emulate.

But Modi’s time running the league didn’t last long. In 2010, the controversy around the Kochi Tuskers Kerala franchise brought internal tensions inside the BCCI out into the open. Modi publicly disclosed details of the franchise’s ownership structure, which quickly became a major political issue within Indian cricket circles.

What followed was a rapid fall. The BCCI suspended him soon after and later imposed a lifetime ban, citing several allegations, including financial irregularities and governance breaches.

Modi subsequently moved to London, where he has remained ever since, while contesting various legal and regulatory challenges linked to his time in Indian cricket administration.

Even today, he continues to comment on cricket’s business and governance, often sharply, despite being far removed from the structures he once helped build.

What happens next?

With four bidding groups now shortlisted and a meeting scheduled for 16 March, the Rajasthan Royals sale process is entering a decisive stage.

If the Somani–Modi consortium were to emerge as the winning bidder, it would raise an immediate question: how the BCCI and the Indian government would respond to Lalit Modi’s attempt to return to the IPL ecosystem he once built.

For now, the race to acquire one of the IPL’s founding franchises remains wide open.

**This story is updated after Lalit Modi statement..

Lalit Modi has denied that he is part of any talks to take over any franchise via his social media account.

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