Rajasthan Royals Sold For 1.63 Billion US Dollars: Here's How Harsha Bhogle, Sourav Ganguly Reacted

The reported sale of Rajasthan Royals (RR) for a staggering 1.63 billion US dollars (around INR 15,290 crore) took the cricket fraternity by storm on Tuesday (March 24, 2026). The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise has been acquired by a Kal Somani-led consortium, though the deal is subject to approval from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and will come into effect after IPL 2026.

Commentator Harsha Bhogle and former India captain Sourav Ganguly were among the first ones to react to the development, with Bhogle sharing the valuation of The Hundred's most expensive team London Spirits' to offer perspective on the scale of the RR sale.

"So @rajasthanroyals is sold for 1.63 billion USD. Purely for comparison, #LondonSpirit, the most expensive team, was valued at 370 million USD when there was a stake sale in The 100," Bhogle wrote on social media platform X.

'Mind-Boggling Numbers'

Ganguly, who has been BCCI president besides being involved in the IPL as a mentor in the past, called it "great news" for the league. "The numbers are mind-boggling for a sports franchise and a cricket team which plays three months a year. It's great news for Indian cricket and the way forward," he said while addressing the media at an event.

"When it started in 2007, I played the first ball of the IPL in 2008: RCB versus KKR. To see IPL grow to this heights, this is phenomenal and it also goes to show the game expanding," Ganguly added.

He also spoke about how international investors entering the IPL ecosystem, especially from the United States, was significant. "Some of the buyers are from America and the game going to that part of the world with interest, especially Indian cricket, is fantastic."

The Somani-led consortium includes Rob Walton from the Walmart family and the Hamp family (Ford). Somani is an Arizona-based tech entrepreneur who has founded IntraEdge, Truyo.Ai and Academian. The other contenders for RR were the Times Internet-led consortium, the Aditya Birla Group and the Mittal family led by ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal.

It's the first time an IPL team has fetched more than a billion US dollars; Sanjiv Goenka's RPSG group had bought the Lucknow Super Giants for USD 940 million. Another major IPL franchise in the form of reigning champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru is also up for sale, and the value of that deal is expected to cross 2 billion US dollars.