Nikhil Kamath, Ranjan Pai potential frontrunners to purchase RCB franchise: Report

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers celebrate with the IPL trophy after RCB won IPL 2025 (Source: Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

A day after it became official that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are up for sale, reports have started emerging of potential buyers. Bengaluru-based billionaires Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, and Ranjan Pai, chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group, are among the few names doing rounds.

As reported by Times of India, both Kamath and Pai are local figures and possess substantial wealth that make them potential candidates to bid for the over a billion dollars franchise. It added that any consortium that bids for the franchise would ideally want someone from the city or region for effective connection with the passionate fanbase, and support from the city and state's political and social establishment.

Meanwhile, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India, last month sparked buzz of him also being keen to acquire the franchise. In a post on X, dated October 1, Poonawalla wrote: "At the right valuation, @RCBTweets is a great team..."

At the right valuation, @RCBTweets is a great team…

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) October 1, 2025

The national daily citing sources stated a consortium comprising of Kamath, Pai and possibly Poonawalla might make a bid for the franchise. All three parties mentioned, however, are yet to react on the speculation.

If we look at the wealth index, Poonawalla according to Forbes is worth more than $20 billion. Meanwhile, the business magazine reports Pai's net worth to be estimated at $2.8 billion, while Kamath at $2.5 billion.

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RCB, on the other hand, was valued over $1 billion by Forbes but it was in 2022. Now since they have lifted the trophy for the first time in 18 years, the figure is anticipated to be significantly higher.

Meanwhile, a comprehensive valuation report by investment firm Houlihan Lokey on IPL and its franchises determined the league's business value around $18.5 billion and brand value at $3.9 billion in 2025. Interestingly, RCB's brand value was estimated at $269 million - the highest among all ten franchises.