Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Raj Kundra became co-owners of Rajasthan Royals in 2009 but gave up their stake in 2015 ( Photo Credit – Instagram; Facebook )
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IPL 2024 is in full swing, and people are hooked. This 17th edition stays true to its form, from nail-biting matches to surprising off-filed moments. The latest buzzing game is between the beloved Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. The Royals team were the first champions of IPL’s first edition ever, and who can forget their IPL anthem, ‘Halla Bol’ starring former Team owner Shilpa Shetty? Confused with the term former team owner, many on the internet are- raising the question- Is Shilpa Shetty still the owner of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024?
The first iteration and edition of the Indian Premier League, back in 2008, was all anyone could talk about. A lot has changed since the first edition: roaring scandals, match-fixing, off-field and on-field fights, and even team ownership.
Owners of the IPL Teams in 2008 were star-studded: Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla for KKr, Preity Zinta for Kings XI Punjab (renamed Punjab Kings), Shilpa Shetty For Rajasthan Royals, and Many celebrities supporting Royal Challengers Bangalore, courtesy of Vijay Mallaya, back then. Shahrukh and Juhi continue to co-own KKR, and Zinta owns the new Punjab Kings. But the other two- Mallaya, Shilpa Shetty, and Raj Kundra- no longer own their famous IPL teams.
Shilpa Shetty’s association with Rajasthan Royals was quite successful. The team even won the first IPL in 2008. But then, a series of early scandals polarised the game and her association. Back in the day, scandals involved Raj Kundra’s name infrequently.
In the early 2010s, there were a series of controversies around IPL. These include betting scandals, match-fixing, and bans on teams like RR and CSK. The ownership of RR attracted controversy in 2010.
After revelations that undisclosed shareholders held a significant stake in the franchise and that fictitious bids violated BCCI norms, in the same year, a betting scandal involved Raj Kundra, resulting in a lifetime ban from IPL. The Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings were also found guilty. Both received bans for their participation in the betting scandal case.
The Sukhee actress and husband Raj Kundra, who, in February 2009, became part-owners of the team for an 11.7 percent stake, gave up the stake in 2015 after the ban. Co-owner at the time, Manoj Badale, now has the majority stake in the company.
Badale’s emerging media has a majority stake of 65% in the IPL. Lachlan Murdoch and RedBird Capital are minority stakeholders in RR. The former team captain, Shane Warne, said that the team’s worth goes up to approximately $1 billion dollars or Rs. 110 crore.
Sanju Samson leads Rajasthan Royals as the Captain in IPL 2024. In contrast, Hardik Pandya took over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma for Mumbai Indians. The IPL 2024 streams on Jio Cinema and airs on Star Sports Network on DTH and Cable TV.
