Reports: Sanjeev Goenka in London to discuss ownership of Rajasthan Royals

What’s the Story?

According to reports, the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise owner Sanjeev Goenka is in London to discuss the possibility of taking over the ownership of the Rajasthan Royals IPL franchise ahead of the 2018 season. 

Sources close to Goenka revealed that the businessman had a lot of reasons to visit London and did not comment on his talks with the owners of RR.

"I have business here with close to 4000 people working in my firm. I have come for that purpose, I will also be visiting the India games in the Champions Trophy," Goenka told Mumbai Mirror without commenting on the supposed acquisition talks.

The Context

This is not the first time Goenka was rumoured to take over the ownership of the Royals. Earlier last month, rumours had surfaced about him having already bought a stake in the former IPL champions team.

However, he dismissed the rumours when asked about it. There were rumours about him taking over the Indian Super League side Atletico de Kolkata as well but he dismissed those rumours as well. 

Goenka was the owner of the RPS side which will not be taking part in the IPL next year. They played extremely well this year and lost out in a nail-biting final to the Mumbai Indians. 

The Details:

According to the reports, Goenka arrived in London to meet with Manoj Badale, the man who owns 40 percent of a stake in the Rajasthan Royals. The speculation of his taking over the franchise received further credence when he was seen alongside Raghu Iyer – the CEO of the Goenka Sports wing. 

Goenka was in the news for a lot of wrong reasons during the IPL 2017. His comments on MS Dhoni and an alleged rift led to him receiving a lot of hate over social media from fans all over the world. 

Sources from the franchise also revealed that they were looking at companies such as Jindal Steel Works to invest. 

Author’s Take

With the Rajasthan Royals all set to make a comeback next season along with the Chennai Super Kings, it will be extremely interesting to see what Goenka can bring to the table if he does take over.  

He achieved a lot of success with the Pune franchise and it would be nice to see a familiar face in the IPL next year.