IPL 2019: Reports: Bachchan family shows interest in buying stakes in Rajasthan Royals

What's the story?

Last week, news had emerged that the owners of Jaipur based IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals were willing to sell half of their stakes in the franchise.

According to reports which are now circulating in the media, the Bachchan family has shown interest in buying the stakes in Rajasthan Royals. They first approached the Chennai Super Kings before approaching the owners of the inaugural IPL winners.

The background

IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals has been a part of the league ever since its inception and some stakes of the franchise were earlier owned by Bollywood celebrity Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra.

However, the owners and franchise were suspended in 2015 and the team made a comeback in the league with new owners and stakeholders in 2018.

The heart of the matter

Abhishek Bachchan holds stakes in the Indian Super League franchise Chennaiyin FC and also owns a part of the Jaipur Pink Panthers franchise of the Pro Kabaddi League.

Now, it seems like the Bachchan family wants to own stakes in an IPL franchise. They earlier approached the Chennai-based franchise. However, they are now in talks with Manoj Badale, co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals franchise.

"Yes, Abhishek (Bachchan) met Manoj Badale in London some time ago,” Ramesh Pulapaka, CEO of AB Corp, was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Earlier, the news of Sanjiv Goenka buying stakes in Rajasthan Royals had emerged. However, there have been no further developments in that direction.

What's next?

Amitabh Bachchan is a regular visitor to IPL matches at the Wankhede Stadium which shows his love for the league. But, with a lot of big business houses in the race to buy stakes in Rajasthan Royals, it will be interesting to see how things go down.