From Deccan Chargers to RCB, the twists and turns in IPL team ownership

As Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawala makes public his interest in buying RCB, Forbes India takes a look at other franchises that have changed hands

Jan 23, 2026, 18:59 IST2 min

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Deccan Chargers to Sunrisers Hyderabad:
2009 winners Deccan Chargers changed hands in 2013 after former owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited went bankrupt. The Sun Group won the bid for the franchise for around Rs 425 crore. The team, with Kavya Maran (in picture), the daughter of SRH co-owner Kalanithi Maran, as its current CEO, has since played in the IPL as Sunrisers Hyderabad. Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images

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Delhi Daredevils to Delhi Capitals: In 2018, JSW Sports bought a 50 percent stake in the GMR-owned franchise Delhi Daredevils for a reported Rs 550 crore and rebranded it to Delhi Capitals (now captained by Axar Patel, right). The co-owners now implement a rotational policy to manage the men’s and women’s franchises. GMR now oversees the men’s team, while JSW the women’s team. Photo by Punit Paranjpe / AFP ; Sajjad Hussain / AFP

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Kochi Tuskers Kerala: Owned by Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd and Rendezvous Sports World, the franchise played its only season in IPL 2011 before it was terminated by the BCCI for failure to pay a bank guarantee within the deadline. It led to a decade-long legal tussle that culminated in June 2025 when the Bombay High Court asked the cricket board to pay Rs 539 crore to the owners. Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP

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Pune Warriors India: The franchise, bought by Sahara India for Rs 1,702 crore for 10 years, had an early exit after a two-year stint in the IPL in 2011 and 2012. The team was disbanded thereafter following a financial dispute with the BCCI over the franchise fee. Photo by Indranil Mukherjee / AFP

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Gujarat Lions & Rising Pune Supergiant: The two teams played in the IPL for two years—2016 and 2017—the period where Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for spot-fixing. The former (led by Suresh Raina) was owned by Intext Technologies and the latter (captained by MS Dhoni in 2016 and Steve Smith the next year) by Sanjiv Goenka’s RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group that now owns the Lucknow Super Giants. Photo by Indranil Mukherjee / AFP

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Gujarat Titans: In its first foray into sports, Torrent Group acquired a 67 percent stake in the franchise for a reported Rs 5,025 crore. The Ahmedabad-based pharma major bought its majority stake from Irelia Company, which is managed and controlled by CVC Capital Partners, just ahead of IPL 2025. Photos by Indranil Mukherjee / AFP

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Rajasthan Royals: The franchise has been in the eye of the storm on multiple occasions, leading to several churns in its ownership structure. In 2010, it received a termination notice for having among its investors Suresh Chellaram, the brother-in-law of ousted IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. The case was squashed later. In 2013, Raj Kundra, husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty who had a 10-odd percent share, was accused of betting. After a legal tussle for two years, Kundra forfeited his shares and the franchise was banned till 2017. The owners, a consortium led by British-Indian Manoj Badale and his Emerging Media Ventures (at 65 percent), are now said to be exploring a majority stake sale or even a complete buyout. Photo by Mihir Singh / Reuters