Royal Challengers Chennai, Bengaluru Indians? IPL founder Lalit Modi reveals Vijay Mallya, Mukesh Ambani's bids in 2008

The billion dollar sales of two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises grabbed headlines ahead of the start of the 2026 season.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) was sold for $1.63 billion (approximately Rs 15,290 crore), a rise of 2,334 per cent or 24.33 times from its original value of $67 million in 2008. At the time, the value of $1 of Rs 40.

Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was sold for $1.78 billion (approximately Rs 16,700 crore), while it was bought for $111.6 million in 2008. This represents a 1,495 per cent rise.

In a post on social media, IPL founder Lalit Modi shared an Excel sheet, revealing interesting details about the original bids from owners of the franchises.

Vijay Mallya's multiple attempts

Royal Challengers Mumbai or Royal Challengers Chennai could have been a possibility as liquor baron Vijay Mallya had not only bid for Bengaluru, but also for six other teams, including Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

Interestingly, his bid for a Delhi-based franchise was also $111.6 million, while the winning bid was $84 as former United Breweries head opted for Bengaluru over the national capital.

Mukesh Ambani's record breaking bid

Mukesh Ambani bid for Mumbai and other cities through his subsidiary Rathi Priya Trading.

The business tycoon eventually splurged $111.9 million on Mumbai -- the highest among all competitors -- while also bidding for seven other cities, including Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai.

Anil Ambani's failure

It was not just one of Ambani who bid for an IPL team. Mukesh Ambani's brother Anil Ambani also bid for eight cities but managed to nail none, owing to conservative bids.

His maximum bid was for Mumbai at $72 million, close to $50 million lower than his brother Mukesh. Anil's bid was also the lowest among bids for India's financial capital.

One bid wonders

While others made multiple attempts to acquire a team, Deccan Chronical and India Cements bid only for Hyderabad and Chennai respectively won on their only bids.

While India Cements bought Chennai for $91 million, Deccan made an investment of $107.01.

Other surprises

The sheet has revealed that there were just four bids for Bengaluru, which has now emerged as one of the most popular franchises, while Mohali attracted interest from seven competitors, only behind Delhi's eight.

Meanwhile, three cities -- Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Cuttack went unsold, with Cuttack not attracting a single bid.

It is also interesting to note that all other bidders registered through their companies, while Bollywood actor Priety Zinta, who eventually landed Mohali, was the only individual name in the process.

No true value of appreciation

Modi further claimed that one can just judge the true value appreciation today as the bids were made in dollars and were then converted to rupees when the value of a dollar was Rs 40, while it now is Rs 93.

He further explained that further the amount bid was spread out to be paid evenly over 10 years and that many teams became profitable after 1 year.

"The amount came out of their cash flow. So value appreciation is far greater than what the media conceives it to be. Actual numbers each team spent to buy the team will show up only in company filings with registrar of the company. So check that for accuracy and true value appreciation," Modi said.