Another massive news event arrived just a few days ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). Royal Challengers Bengaluru is sold to the Birla group.

On the evening of March 24 (Tuesday), Harsh Goenka informed about the massive move through a short ‘X’ post. “RCB sold to Birlas! Great move,” Harsh Goenka shared the information on social media at 7.39 PM.

As soon as he shared the information, cricket fans started to notice it at a rapid pace. Here, in the post, ‘Birlas’ can be a reference to the Aditya Birla Group, which is chaired and controlled by Kumar Mangalam Birla.

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sold to the Birla group

According to Cricbuzz, Aditya Birla Group (ABG), The Times of India Group (ToI), Bolt Ventures (Bolt), and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy (BXPE, Blackstone) have jointly invested approximately INR 16,706 crore to claim the 100 percent ownership of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The acquisition involves both men’s and women’s teams at the IPL and WPL.

RCB sold to Birlas! Great move.

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) March 24, 2026

Aryaman Vikram Birla, Director, Aditya Birla Group, will act as the Chairman of the newly structured ownership, and Satyan Gajwani of The Times of India Group will serve as the Vice-President of the company.

David Blitzer, the founder of Bolt Ventures, and Viral Patel, CEO of BXPE, are the other individuals who are involved in the takeover.

Official statements from the new owners of the franchise

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, said that IPL has become a powerhouse in the global sports industry and changed the financial aspect of Indian sports. With the entire ownership of RCB, they will try to extend its legacy of institution-building into the arena of global sport.

“Over the past two decades, the IPL has morphed to become a global sporting powerhouse that has changed the face of Indian cricket, creating enormous value for India. RCB, as one of the most compelling franchises in modern sport, offers the Aditya Birla Group a distinctive platform to extend its legacy of institution-building into the arena of global sport.”

“We are delighted to become custodians of this asset and committed to further building this extraordinary legacy,” Kumar Mangalam Birla said in a statement.

“It is a privilege to come together in this partnership to shape the next phase of growth for RCB. This partnership brings together a deep understanding of sports, media, and consumer businesses. Together, we will continue to Play Bold – on the pitch, in the community, and for the fans who make RCB what it is,” Aryaman Birla, the new chairman, said.

Rajasthan Royals’ ownership sold for around $1.63 billion

Meanwhile, RR also has a new owner on board. A consortium led by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani has become the new owner of the Rajasthan-based franchise.

It is known that the Somani-led consortium has pursued the ownership of Rajasthan Royals for a whopping price tag of around $1.63 billion (£1.2 billion).

Read More: Rinku Singh gets major role for KKR ahead of IPL 2026

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the formation of seven empowered groups to assess the implications of the ongoing military conflict in West Asia on energy supplies, essential commodities and supply chains, and chart a strategy to cushion its impact on the Indian economy.In a statement in Rajya Sabha, Modi said the conflict had rattled economies across the world and cautioned that recovery from the damage inflicted in West Asia would take time. Drawing from govt’s playbook during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said the new groups would function as quick-response teams focusing on key areas such as petrol and diesel, fertilisers, gas, supply chains and inflation.“I am fully confident that through these shared and coordinated efforts, we’ll be able to navigate these circumstances more effectively,” the PM said, noting that an inter-ministerial group was already meeting regularly to track developments and address emerging challenges arising out of the situation.The seven panels, comprising senior officers from various ministries and departments, have been tasked with identifying risks and preparing short-, medium- and long-term strategies in a time-bound manner.Their mandate includes assessing vulnerabilities in energy supplies and pricing, ensuring adequacy of strategic reserves, and taking steps to manage price volatility and prevent supply disruptions. They will also examine potential bottlenecks – from shipping routes and ports to aviation corridors and critical imports and recommend pre-emptive measures.The groups are expected to explore alternative sources of imports to reduce dependence on any single region, while keeping a close watch on domestic availability and price stability of essential commodities, including food, fertilisers and fuels.During the pandemic, govt had set up 11 such empowered groups comprising officials and experts to take swift decisions and ensure coordination between the Centre and the states. Flagging the likelihood of a prolonged disruption, Modi said the conflict’s adverse effects may last a long time. “But I assure people that govt remains vigilant and proactive, and is taking every necessary decision with seriousness.”

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday dismissed an election petition that challenged the victory of BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Narendra Mehta, 54, in the 2024 polls from Mira-Bhayandar constituency in Maharashtra. Justice Sharmila Deshmukh held that the petition by Nayana Vasani lacks necessary specific details mandated under law when challenging an election.Mehta, declared elected on Nov 23, 2024 as MLA of the Mira-Bhayander constituency, through his advocate Amogh Singh, argued for dismissal of the petition filed last year.Balkrishna Joshi, Vasani’s counsel, argued for quashing of the election on two grounds, one of which was “improper acceptance” of Mehta’s nomination over “suppression of criminal cases” pending against him and non-disclosure of details of assets, which constitutes corrupt practice under the Representation of People Act.The HC, in a detailed 29-page ruling, said the law requires specifics of the allegations against the elected representative. “The burden is necessarily on the party who approaches the Court seeking the relief that the election be declared void. There is no right to challenge the election outside the statute and there has to be strict compliance of the statutory provisions,” said Justice Deshmukh, adding that the petitioner is not only required to point out the suppression and the elected representative tasked with furnishing the necessary details. “Absence of material facts to substantiate the suppression would constitute non-compliance of Section 83(1)(b) of RP Act. Non-disclosure of a cause of action would entail rejection of the petition.”The HC held that the election petition was “bereft” of pleadings that demonstrate improper acceptance of the nomination form affected the poll result.The petition against Mehta said he suppressed two FIRs for 2020 and 2022. Mehta’s counsel argued that the law requires disclosure of criminal offences in which charge has been framed by a court or where there is conviction. The HC said the petition “falls short of the specific pleading in order to constitute cause of action for corrupt practice. Section 83(1)(b) demands furnishing of full particulars of corrupt practice. As to what would constitute material facts in case of corrupt practice would depend on facts of each case and in present case, considering that Form 26 prescribed furnishing of details of pending criminal cases, it was necessary to plead about the status of the two FIRs and to produce material to demonstrate the pendency of the two FIRs on the date of filing of affidavit. The petition does not even contain a bare assertion that two FIRs are pending against the applicant, leave aside setting out the status of the FIRs to show pendency.”