The Indian Premier League is an international event. A lot of money goes into conducting this most-watched event every year. Cricket fans must be wondering who owns the teams of this cash-rich league. So, here are the owners of each IPL franchise:
Rajasthan Royals
Indian businessman Manoj Badale (Emerging Media IPL Ltd) is the majority shareholder of the team with over 50% stake followed by Amisha Hathiramani from Nigeria-based Tresco International Ltd. Lachlan Murdoch is an Australian-British-American businessman and his Blue Water Estate Ltd owns 11.7% shares in the franchise. Former Australian cricketer Shane Warne himself represented the team in the initial few seasons. After retirement, he took up the co-ownership of the popular franchise through his undergarment brand called as ‘Spinners’. The former cricketer owns 3% share in the team.
Chennai Super Kings
The franchise is owned by Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. which is a subsidiary of India Cements, managed by Narayanaswami Srinivasan. The industrialist, who is also former ICC chairman and BCCI president, has been in the cricket game for decades. Despite all the controversies, he has been credited for raising India’s profile on the international stage.
Delhi Capitals
The team is jointly owned by JSW Sports and GMR Sports Pvt Ltd under a common entity called JSW GMR Cricket Private Limited. Managing director of JSW Group, Parth Jindal is one of the youngest franchise owners in the IPL. The ambitious entrepreneur, who has been eager to carve his own path, has been at the forefront in steering the sports division of the steel major business conglomerate JSW Group. He took over the charge of Delhi Daredevils in 2018 and rebranded it to Delhi Capitals, brought in Sourav Ganguly as mentor and went in with a very clear auction strategy. Today, the franchise has the most balanced and strong squad.
Co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi nurtured the franchise for 10 years before getting into a 50% partnership with JSW in 2018. Besides solidifying the core team, both the scions involved a number of new age enterprises from the Tech space which were complemented by their own well-established national brands and created Delhi Capitals as a formidable IPL brand.
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What works for Punjab Kings team is each owner’s personal zeal for sports. They have given the mandate to manage the team to mentor and coach Anil Kumble.
Punjab Kings
The franchise is jointly owned by Dabur group’s Mohit Burman (46%), the Wadia group’s Ness Wadia (23%), Preity Zinta (23%), and Karan Paul (Apeejay Surrendra Group) (8%).
What works for this team is each owner’s personal zeal for sports. They have given the mandate to manage the team to mentor and coach Anil Kumble. Amongst all, Preity Zinta has come out as most prominent on ground, cheering and encouraging the team and is counted amongst the most successful businesswomen in Bollywood.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and her spouse Jay Mehta. Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment has a 55% stake in KKR whereas Mehta Group has a 45% stake. Both the actors, who successfully donned entrepreneurial hat, are a brand name in themselves and are reportedly Bollywood’s most successful business people.
Mumbai Indians
The team is owned by India’s biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries of Mukesh Ambani through its 100% subsidiary IndiaWin Sports. It is the most valuable team in IPL among all eight franchises. Owner Nita Ambani is famous for her enthusiasm for sports and is directly active with the team.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Bangalore-based franchise is a fully-owned subsidiary of United Spirits (now owned by Diageo India), of which Vijay Mallya had been chairman and non-executive director, till he resigned from his post in 2016. Diageo India CEO Anand
Kripal took over as the chairman in 2020 and is the new owner. He has been leading Diageo India’s journey since 2014 prior to which he held the position of President, India and South Asia at Mondelez International, and Managing Director of Cadbury India Ltd.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
The franchise is owned by Kalanithi Maran, the CEO of Sun TV Network. He is the son of the former union minister Murasoli Maran and also the grandnephew of erstwhile Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi. Kalanithi is believed to have good relations with team management and also the players and is often seen in the stands supporting his team and also exchanging a smile or two towards everyone hollering at the top of their lungs for his team. Kalanithi’s daughter Kaviya Maran seems to have taken over the operations of the team from 2020.
