Rajasthan Royals sold for ₹15,000 crore; these billionaires bought the entire team overnight

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Just before the start of the new season of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, a very shocking and big news has come out from the cricket world. The first champion team of IPL history, Rajasthan Royals, has now been completely sold and has got new owners. After several months of negotiations and hustle bustle, the sale of this prestigious franchise has finally been finalized with a huge and record bid of 1.65 billion dollars, or about 15 thousand crore rupees. American businessman Kal Somani and his consortium had placed the highest bid to buy this team, which has now been officially approved.

Manoj Badale and Murdoch were dismissed, 100% stake was sold

Following this historic deal, the current owners of Rajasthan Royals have been completely eliminated. One of the eight initial IPL franchises, the primary owner was Indian-born British businessman Manoj Badale, who held a 65 percent stake. A further 15 percent was held by renowned American investment firm RedBird Capital, and 13 percent by British industrialist Lachlan Murdoch. The remaining 7 percent was held by several other investors. Now, a new American consortium has acquired 100 percent ownership of the team.

Know who is the new owner who placed a record bid of Rs 15 thousand crore?

Just months after the end of the previous season, the current owners of the Royals announced their intention to sell the franchise. This sparked a bidding war among several major business houses around the world. The deadline for bidding was March 15th, and a group of three prominent investors, including Indian-American billionaire businessman Kal Somani, emerged victorious. Kal Somani owns the renowned IT services company IntraEdge and already held a small stake in the Rajasthan Royals.

Walmart and Ford Motor owners also became partners

This mega acquisition of Rajasthan Royals will be fully implemented from the next IPL season. In this huge deal, not only Kal Somani, but also Rob Walton of the Walton family, owner of the world's largest retail company Walmart, and Sheila Ford Hamp, belonging to the famous automobile company Ford Motor, are important parts of this consortium. However, the share of each billionaire in this deal worth Rs 15 thousand crores is yet to be revealed. Interestingly, Rob Walton and Sheila Ford Hamp also own different sports teams in America's most popular rugby league (NFL), which clearly shows that their dominance in the sports world is quite old.