Rajasthan Royals sold for $1.65bn

The Rajasthan Royals have agreed a sale that values the IPL franchise at about $1.65 billion, with a consortium led by Lakshmi Mittal and Adar Poonawalla set to take control. The buyers are expected to end up with roughly 93% of the business between them, with the Mittal family taking around 75% and Poonawalla about 18%, while existing investors retain a small residual stake. The transaction also includes the wider Royals portfolio, covering Paarl Royals in South Africa’s SA20 and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League, which makes this more than a single-franchise acquisition. Completion is expected in the third quarter of 2026, subject to approvals from the BCCI, the IPL Governing Council and competition authorities.

That valuation matters because it pushes the IPL deeper into global premium-franchise territory. Rajasthan are not the richest or most decorated team in the league, yet the price still lands north of $1.6 billion, which says a lot about how the market now sees the long-term value of IPL ownership, media rights and the surrounding franchise ecosystem. The inclusion of sister teams is also telling. Investors are no longer only buying one domestic asset; they are buying into a multi-league cricket network with audience reach across India, South Africa and the Caribbean. For sports investors, that makes this a franchise-platform story as much as a team sale, and one that reinforces cricket’s place as one of the most bankable properties in global sport.