Aryaman Birla's IPL Journey: From Warming RR's Bench To Owning RCB

A 28-year-old Aryaman Birla, who is the son of billionaire Indian business tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla, has been named as the chairman of the popular IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

This decision comes after the RCB was sold to a consortium of business owners, including Aditya Birla Group, Blackstone Group's private equity arm BXPE, David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures, and the Times of India group for a whopping USD 1.78 billion, roughly amounting to INR 16,706 crore.

Interestingly Aryaman Birla is no mug to cricket as has played domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh alongside current RCB skipper Rajat Patidar and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer.

He was also a part of the Rajasthan Royals for two years - 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, he couldn't manage to play even a single game during his tenure for the franchise.

Aryaman Birla's Cricketing Journey

Aryaman Birla's cricket journey started with the Hampstead Cricket Club and the London Schools Cricket Association in England. He then came to Madhya Pradesh and represented the state in the CK Nayudu Trophy, where he scored 602 runs at an astonishing average of 75.25, including three tons.

His Ranji debut for MP came in 2017, where he featured in nine first-class matches, mostly in the 2018-19 season, and scored 414 runs. The fight against Bengal to save the match for MP was the highlight of his domestic career. It was during that time only, when he shared the dressing room with the likes of Rajat Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer.

After his impressive run in the Ranji Trophy, he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018. He remained a part of the RR franchise for two seasons, but he could not get an opportunity to play, after which he took an indefinite break from cricket, citing anxiety.

New Beginning In Corporate

After shifting away from cricket, Aryaman Birla focused on his academics and pursued an MBA (Honours) from Harvard University and a Master's in Global Finance from Bayes Business School. He earlier had a degree in Commerce from Mumbai University.

After completing his studies, he joined his family business and quickly climbed up the corporate ladder to now sit on the Board of Aditya Birla Management Corporation, along with directorship roles in Grasim Industries and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail.

Return To IPL As Owner

After nine years, Aryaman Birla is back in the IPL, however, this time not as a player but as a franchise owner of one of the most popular franchises. The change of ownership comes at an important juncture for RCB as they have just won their maiden title last year and will enter this year as the defending champions.

He will be hoping to take the franchise to newer heights from here. In this first statement after the purchase, Aryaman Birla says, "It is a privilege to come together in this partnership to shape the next phase of growth for RCB. Together, we will continue to Play Bold, on the pitch, in the community, and for the fans who make RCB what it is.”