RAJASTHAN: The Rajasthan Royals have a new owner, and he comes with deep pockets, deeper connections, and a taste for sports that goes well beyond cricket.
A consortium led by Kal Somani, a US-based serial entrepreneur with an impressive footprint across the American tech ecosystem, has won the bidding war to acquire the Rajasthan Royals franchise outright, forking out $1.63bn (£1.2bn) for the privilege. The current owners had been shopping the franchise around for the better part of six months, seeking a full 100 per cent sale.
Somani does not arrive alone. Rob Walton, scion of the Walmart dynasty, is backing the deal, as is the Hamp family, which holds majority stakes in the NFL’s Detroit Lions. Sheila Ford Hamp brings further heft as part of the Ford family, which retains a significant stake in Ford Motor Company. This is old American money meeting new Indian cricket gold.
The buyer himself is no stranger to either boardrooms or playing fields. Somani is the founder and chief executive of IntraEdge, a technology services and solutions firm; Truyo and Truyo.AI, which specialise in data privacy rights automation and AI governance; and Academian, a major player in ed-tech and digital content. His pivot into sport began with a focus on sports technology but swiftly evolved into full-blown ownership. He is a co-owner of the Motor City Golf Club and was an early investor in TMRW Sports and the TGL Golf League, the tech-driven venture launched by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
Somani had first dipped his toes into the Royals’ pink waters in 2021. “We see huge potential with this investment, and we are excited for the future of the IPL,” he said then. That excitement has now translated into a $1.63bn cheque.
For a franchise that won the inaugural IPL title in 2008 and has spent years punching above its weight, this is a watershed moment. What began as a scrappy underdog story out of Jaipur is now a billion-dollar American asset, proof that the IPL has firmly arrived on the global sports investment map, and has no intention of leaving.
