IPL Franchise RCB Reportedly Up for Sale: Former Commissioner Lalit Modi Claims Diageo Ready to Exit

NEW DELHI: The year 2025 has been a rollercoaster for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with highs and lows that captured global attention. The franchise celebrated its maiden Indian Premier League title earlier this year, ending a long trophy drought, only for the celebrations to turn tragic when a stampede in Bengaluru claimed 11 lives and left several others injured.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Now, speculation over the future of the team has intensified. Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has claimed that the current owners, Diageo Plc, have decided to sell the franchise. In a detailed post on X, Modi wrote: “It seems the owners have finally decided to take it off their balance sheet and sell it. I am sure having won the IPL last season, and with its strong base of fans and a great management team, it could be the only team available as a whole as an IPL franchise.”Modi also highlighted the potential appeal for global investors. “One of the big global funds or a sovereign fund would desperately like to have them as part of their investment and India strategy. There can be no better investment opportunity than this. It definitely will set a new record valuation, showing that IPL is not only the fastest-growing global sporting league but also the most valuable. That new price that RCB sets will become the new floor price for all teams,” Modi further explained.Reports of RCB being on the market have surfaced before, with media outlets earlier suggesting that Diageo was in talks with prospective buyers. With Modi confirming the owners’ decision to sell, the IPL world now waits to see who might take over one of its most popular and successful franchises.The sale, if it goes through, could reshape the IPL landscape, establishing a new benchmark for franchise valuations and further solidifying the league’s position as a global sporting powerhouse.