After kabaddi and football, Bachchan family eyes IPL innings; show interest in Rajasthan Royals

The star-studded Indian Premiere League (IPL) may now see the debut of the Bachchan family, who has approached Rajasthan Royals to acquire stake in their team, The Times of India has reported.

The Bachchan family is already active in the sports space, as they are associated with Indian Super League (ISL) and Pro Kabaddi league (PKL). They have shares in ISL franchise Chennaiyin FC while Abhishek Bachchan is the owner of PKL franchise Jaipur Pink Panthers.

Now, legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan has shown interest in the country’s most-followed sport.

The Bachchans had first approached IPL’s defending champions Chennai Super Kings through their company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation. However, the talks failed and they have now approached Rajasthan Royals, the report suggested. They have already had a preliminary round of discussions to buy a share in the 2008 IPL champion team.

“Yes, Abhishek (Bachchan) met Manoj Badale in London some time ago,” AB Corp CEO Ramesh Pulapaka told the publication. Badale is the principal owner of Rajasthan Royals.

Last week, a report in PTI had also suggested the owners of the franchise are looking to sell half of their stakes in order to give the side a much-needed financial boost ahead of the 12th edition of the popular league.

Sanjeev Goenka, former IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiants's owner, is also reportedly keen on buying stakes in the franchise.

"Mr Goenka has always been interested in coming back after he had a fairly good but short stint in the IPL. His team made it to the finals in one of the years. Let's wait and watch how it all pans out," a senior BCCI official privy to the development told PTI.

Royals were champions of the first edition of IPL in 2008 under the stewardship of Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

Their reputation, however, took a beating in 2013 when three cricketers — S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila — were arrested on charges of spot-fixing and the franchise was subsequently banned for two years by a Supreme Court-appointed committee.

(With inputs from PTI)