Flamboyant former owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Vijay Mallya’s recent resignation as Chairman raised several questions about ownership of the franchise. Companies with existent sports structure in India such as JSW are being touted as front-runners to succeed United Spirits Limited (USL) as the newest Indian Premier League (IPL) entrant. However, an unsung company known as Chalak Mitra from Texas, USA might just make a mighty swoop to snatch RCB from under JSW’s nose. Primarily known for their restaurant chains in Houston, the Indian owned company made their initial foray into cricket through ownership of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Jamaica Tallawahs. The same team current RCB batsman Chris Gayle plays for.
According to our sources, Charak Mitra representatives have been in India meeting several IPL officials and franchise owners to understand various nuance of propositional approach. RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka confirmed their interest via his Twitter account yesterday.
Apart from hotels, the private equity group also has a flourishing Real Estate business, and is now willing to expand heavily into the sports market. They are not an unknown entity withing USA’s sporting landscape, having garnered sponsorship deals with NBA teams Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks.
A source close to RCB said, “I cannot get into details, but yes they were in India to discuss all things IPL. Will not comment further on this issue.”
Earlier, JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal confirmed that his company was buying an IPL team. However, he specifically refrained from revealing the name. He said, “Moneywise I don't think that is the issue (because), the idea is that we want to take some credible team so that we can promote sports."
He added, “Cricket is the number one sport in our country so there is an idea to acquire a team... an IPL team. But, I cannot comment which team would be.”
Mallya had bought RCB for USD 111.6 million, the second highest bid in the IPL. With RCB tussling for a play-off spot, their off-field trajectory could turn a new uncanny page soon.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
