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The Owner of RR keeps popping up because the franchise switched hands twice in a single year. Cricket fans searched for answers when news broke about a US billionaire group taking over, only to see that plan fall apart weeks later. A fresh deal then stepped in and changed the entire ownership picture again. This kind of back-and-forth rarely happens with IPL franchises, so it makes sense that people want clarity. Below, you will find the full timeline, the people involved, and where things stand right now with proper facts and simple explanations.

Who is the Current Owner of RR In 2026?

Rajasthan Royals now sits under a new ownership group led by Lakshmi Mittal and Adar Poonawalla. Their consortium agreed to a deal worth close to $1.65 billion in May 2026, and this replaced an earlier agreement that never made it to the finish line.

Mittal Family Stake: The Mittal family will hold around 75 percent of the franchise once regulatory bodies approve the deal. Lakshmi Mittal runs ArcelorMittal, the largest steel producer in the world, and his son Aditya Mittal serves as the company’s CEO. Both men will join the RR board alongside Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia.

Poonawalla’s Ownership Share: Adar Poonawalla will hold close to 18 percent of the team after the sale closes. He leads the Serum Institute of India, a major vaccine manufacturer, and he also chairs Poonawalla Fincorp. His entry into cricket ownership adds another respected business name to the IPL landscape.

Franchise Founder And Original Ownership Structure

Manoj Badale began Rajasthan Royals way back in 2008 when the IPL was introduced with eight original teams. He headed the ownership team through his firm Emerging Media, and the franchise became the first to win the first season of the IPL with Shane Warne at the helm. The early success provided RR with a powerful brand based on smart scouting and youthful talents.

Badale remained a part of the team nearly as long as any other RR stakeholder, eighteen years. Although he has retired his ownership in the company as the principal owner, he still has a minor share with a seat on the new board. 

Founding Philosophy And Team Building: 

RR has established its initial reputation based on 21st-century decisions supported by data, as opposed to pursuing costly brands. Scouts put their emphasis on underestimated players who had a chance of developing in the system, and that strategy influenced the decade-long talent acquisition of the franchise. The philosophy continues to play a role in the intended ways in which the incoming owners intend to operate the team in the future. 

Why The First 2026 Ownership Deal Collapsed?

A separate consortium headed by commitment Kal Somani had earlier agreed to purchase Rajasthan Royals before the entry of the Mittal group. That sale, with an estimated price of $1.63 billion, made RR the most expensive franchise sale in league history, temporarily. Somani was already a minority shareholding investor in the team, which made the deal appear as a natural progression since 2021.

His team had an American sports ownership sprinkled with a few famous names. Rob Walton, son of the Walmart fortune, has owned the NFL team, the Denver Broncos, and Michael Hamp is a son of the family that owns the Detroit Lions. The transaction got into serious problems even in the presence of the star power in the finalization process. 

Funding And Approval Issues 

It was subsequently reported that the group led by Somani had difficulties in translating their successful bid into an agreement that would be fully funded. Due diligence investigations uncovered loopholes in the commitments of capital, and the exclusivity time had expired without a closeable deal that had been signed. This failure opened the possibility of another buyer almost right away. 

Here is a quick summary of that earlier, now-abandoned ownership proposal:

Proposed Owner	Role	Background
Kal Somani	Lead Investor	US entrepreneur, held minority RR stake since 2021
Rob Walton	Co-Owner	Walmart heir, owns NFL’s Denver Broncos
Michael Hamp	Co-Owner	Son of Sheila Ford Hamp, owns NFL’s Detroit Lions

RR Ownership Timeline From 2008 To 2026

The history of changes in ownership can be used to understand how RR valuation increased so quickly. With every new stage, new investors came, and the total value of the franchise was pushed higher. 

Period	Ownership Group	Deal Value	Current Status
2008	Manoj Badale, Raj Kundra, Shilpa Shetty	$67 million	Completed
2021	RedBird Capital Partners (minority stake)	$37.5 million	Completed
March 2026	Kal Somani, Rob Walton, Michael Hamp	$1.63 billion	Collapsed
May 2026	Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Adar Poonawalla	$1.65 billion	In progress

The Mittal Poonawalla Deal

This new ownership entity injects some serious business knowledge into cricket. Already, Mittal and Poonawalla operate huge business enterprises around the world, and that is an advantage to running a sports franchise on a big scale. They have an agreement that goes beyond IPL. 

Multi-League Cricket Portfolio: 

The purchase involves Paarl Royals in South Africa’s SA20 and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League. The consortium has a presence in three of the largest T20 leagues, so they have a presence in three connected, rather than single, cricket ecosystems. This framework gives the impression of long-term goals outside of the home league in India. 

Talent Development Commitment: 

Aditya Mittal has already addressed the need to carry on with the work of youth academies of RR and its confidence in uncapped players. As this strategy has helped develop the identity of the franchise since the beginning, its sustainability is important for the franchise fan base and on-field success. 

Regulatory Steps Before The Deal Becomes Official

Mittal-Poonawala agreement is yet to be formally cleared before it can be called final. The transaction has to be approved by three independent bodies, and every process consumes time, before the ownership transition is legally enforceable. 

• Board of Control for Cricket in India must review and approve the sale.
• Competition Commission of India needs to clear the deal from a market competition standpoint.
• IPL Governing Council must give final sign-off before the new owners take charge.

Industry expectations point toward completion sometime in the third quarter of 2026. Once cleared, the new board will include Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia, Adar Poonawalla, and Manoj Badale.

Common Confusion Around RR’s Current Owner

Inappropriate articles are abundant and still circulating on the internet, and that causes real confusion for fans and gives them inaccurate information. After two announcements of ownership have occurred in the same year, it is easy to confuse the information. 

Outdated Claims Still Being Shared 

Even now, several sites refer to Kal Somani as the owner of the team although his deal did not actually close. Others presume an active, present stake on the part of Rob Walton or Michael Hamp, but that too is misplaced, as their consortium pulled out of the process altogether. 

• Believing Somani currently owns the team when his deal actually collapsed.
• Assuming Badale exited completely, when he actually kept a small stake and board seat.
• Treating the Mittal deal as finalized before regulatory bodies grant approval.
• Confusing RR’s IPL team with its sister franchises under separate management structures.

Most of this confusion is normally resolved by topping down to the date the article was published. Anything before May 2026 is probably an obsolete picture of ownership. 

Rajasthan Royals Valuation Growth Compared To Other IPL Teams

The fact that RR has increased its price speaks volumes on the extent to which the value of a franchise in the cricket league has increased. The team is estimated to have been sold in the year 2008 at a simple $67 million, and today they are worth nearly $1.65 billion, which represents nearly a 24-fold increase in value over eighteen years of operation.

This is indicated by other franchises. Around the same time, Royal Challengers Bengaluru fetched even more, $1.78 billion, and Gujarat Titans fetched about ₹5,000 crore. Television rights to the IPL increased as well to over $6 billion during the last media auction, and that increase directly drives the value of franchises upwards every year. 

Conclusion

Rajasthan Royals’ ownership story has moved fast in 2026. The initially announced consortium led by Kal Somani of the US did not pass due diligence, and the franchise is now moving to other ownership under Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal and Adar Poonawala in a deal valued at $1.65 billion. Manoj Badale is the founder of RR, having created it in 2008; aside from a minor retained share and a seat on the board, he remains involved with the franchise. To have the most up-to-date, factual response to who owns RR, disregard old articles that could have referenced the previous, unsuccessful offer and use reporting posted in date. 

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