Royal Challengers Bengaluru (or RCB), one of the most prolific teams in the history of the IPL, has recently been taken over by a consortium for $1.78 billion USD (approximately ₹16,660 crore INR). The various business establishments include big names such as Blackstone’s perpetual private equity arm BXPE, Bolt Ventures headed by David Blitzer, the Times of India Group, and the Aditya Birla Group. Notably, Aryaman Birla (of the Aditya Birla group) has been announced as RCB’s new chairman. Read more about it below!
All You Need To Know About Aryaman Birla, RCB’s Newest Chairman
The decision to sell and the new owners were clarified by United Spirits Limited (USL), which owns the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL and WPL. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reserves the right to announce its final approval on this, Aryaman Birla’s journey to this position is quite an interesting one. The deal is also considered one of the most expensive acquisitions of a franchise, not just in Indian cricket but in cricket overall.
He was not always in the business side of cricket. Starting as a professional cricketer at the age of 17, Aryaman Birla moved to Madhya Pradesh for his career. Before this, he had played cricket in England’s West Hampstead Club as well as the London Schools Cricket Association. There, he trained under the aegis of Paul Weekes, a former Middlesex player.
In India, he drew attention in 2017, the year he debuted in the prestigious Ranji Trophy, following his brilliant performance at the CK Nayudu Trophy championship. Stats say he had an impressive average run rate of 75.25, scoring a total of 602 runs with over three centuries in just nine innings!
A hard-fought debut century against Bengal in the Ranji Trophy matches of 2018-19 led to more brilliance in eight matches of the championship. During his time there, he played with Rajat Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer, both of whom presently play for RCB (Patidar serves as captain).
Post his Ranji Trophy stint, Aryaman Birla almost played for the Rajasthan Royals team. Despite being picked up, he did not play a single game for two years. Finally, he took a hiatus from professional cricket in 2019 at 22, saying he felt anxious about playing.
Business Dealings With Aryaman Birla
As the son of Kumar Mangalam Birla, a billionaire businessman, he had acumen passed down over generations. Further cultivating the same, he attended Bayes Business School for a Master’s in Global Finance. Additionally, he earned an MBA (Honours) from the prestigious Harvard Business School in Massachusetts. This followed his B.Com (Bachelor’s in Commerce) from the University of Mumbai.
Apart from being the chairman at RCB, he is a director of key Aditya Group companies, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, and Grasim Industries. Moreover, he is on the present board of the Aditya Birla Management Corporation.
About his newest role, he called it a “privilege” to join this partnership, saying he hoped to take RCB to new heights of growth. Adding that they would “Play Bold”, he said that the new owners would try to do their best “on the pitch, in the community, and for the fans.”
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It will certainly be interesting to have a former cricketer with business experience making key decisions on financing and more at RCB.
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