No plan to sell stake, focus on building team for IPL: Rajasthan Royals

MUMBAI: As Rajasthan Royals, Jaipur franchisee of the Indian Premier League (IPL), is gearing up for a comeback after a two-year ban, co-promoter Manoj Badale is hopeful of a turnaround of the brand. Badale said focus will now be on rebuilding the team and reconnecting with the fans.

“It’s a little bit like 2008 once again,” Badale told ET, referring to the launch year of IPL. “There are aspects of what we have to do this year which are more akin to a startup rather than an established business. But I have been positively amazed and surprised on how a strong connection we have with our fans and how patient they have been. For that we are grateful to our fans.”

Badale also hopes to break even this year as the team’s share in the central revenue will grow manifold, courtesy the new Rs 16,347.5-crore, five-year media rights deal between IPL and Star India. The franchisee is not looking to sell stake, Badale said. “We are 100% focused on building the team, creating value. Yes, there are regular inbound enquiries from prospective investors, and that hasn’t changed since 2009. But our focus has to be on effectively participating this year.”


At the recently concluded players’ auction, the team, which historically remained the most conservative spender, batted boldly on the front foot, spending Rs 65.85 crore of the purse on some of the most expensive players — Ben Stokes (Rs 12.5 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (Rs 11.5 crore) and Sanju Samson (Rs 8 crore).

“We decided this year to spend pretty much our full salary cap, which was afforded by the fact that economics of the franchisee changed because of the TV deal,” Badale said.

However, he explained the team’s methodology was the same, just that they retained one player (Steve Smith) so there was no option but to go big.