RCB and Rajasthan Royals Narrow Down to Seven Bidders
In a recent development on the IPL franchise buyers list, a total of 5 parties have pulled out of the race to buy the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the start of the IPL 2026 season. With March 16 to be the deadline, RCB was expected to attract 7 bids, while Rajasthan had expected 5 bids. However, it is reported that only three buyers are interested in RCB while the Rajasthan Royals has attracted four bids. RCB Ownership Battle Adar Poonawalla (with TPG), Times of India Group, Premji Invest, and Capri Global have withdrawn interest from buying RCB. According to reports, Swedish private equity firm, EQT, is the frontrunner in the bid raning between $2 – $2.1 billion. Meanwhile, Avram Glazer’s Lancer Capital had previously bid $1.8 billion and remains a strong contender with the highest non-binding bid, but does not have any local partners. EQT Avram Glazer (Lancer Capital) Ranjan Pai (with KKR + Temasek) RCB’s owner Diageo wanted to sell RCB ahead of the IPL 2026 season …



