Adar Poonawalla (left) and RCB team celebrating the IPL win.
As rumours over the sale of Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) continued, a social media post of Adar Poonawalla has given further credence that the business tycoon is one of the front-runners to buy the Bengaluru-based franchise.
Speculation over RCB ownership had resurfaced on Tuesday (September 30) after former IPL chairman Lalit Modi claimed on X that owners Diageo may finally be ready to off-load the franchise.
Modi suggested RCB could be valued at over $2 billion, far above the $269 million estimate in Houlihan Lokey’s 2025 IPL Brand Valuation Study.
Media reports had also linked Serum Institute chief Poonawalla as a potential buyer.
On Wednesday, Poonawalla posted a cryptic post on X, which ignited further speculations.
"At the right valuation, @RCBTweets is a great team, posted Poonawalla as the rumour mill went bonkers after that.
The talk of a sale first emerged in June after RCB’s maiden IPL title win was followed by a deadly stampede outside the Karnataka State Cricket Association-owned Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that killed 12 fans.
At the time, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sought clarification, and Diageo dismissed the rumours as “speculative.”
"The company would like to clarify that the media reports are speculative in nature and it is not pursuing any such discussions," Diageo had written to BSE on June 10.
But on Tuesday, despite Modi tweet, the company declined to issue a categorical denial.
The RCB media team echoed that stance, saying they had “nothing to share.”
Now with this latest cryptic post, the Pune-based business tycoon has triggered fresh speculation in the social media.
RCB's stocks had increased after they ended their 17-year-old wait by winning their maiden IPL title which propelled the franchise's valuation to $269 million, and helped them dethrone 'sentimental favourites' Chennai Super Kings from the top spot.
With Virat Kohli as its longstanding face, RCB remains one of the IPL's most valuable and high-profile franchises, though the June tragedy cast a shadow over its historic triumph.
Vijay Mallya had owned RCB from its inception before liquor barons Diageo Plc bought them in 2016.