Beset by middling performances and off-field woes, RR has remained the perennial underdogs. Now, with both its administration and team in order, it has set its eyes on the title
In January 2008, uber-posh limousines lined outside Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium as their owners arrived at the office to submit their bids for eight Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. Manoj Badale, a venture capitalist who was based in the UK and was representing Emerging Media, a consortium of bidders, reached in a Honda and snuck past the throng of jousting journalists and photographers—his wasn’t a recognisable face and he hardly looked the part of an aspiring cricket mogul. “They assumed we were from the press,” says Badale.
In the boardroom later that afternoon, where the sealed bid envelopes were being opened, Badale had a sinking feeling as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group emerged as the highest bidder with an astronomical $111.9 million, nearly double of what Emerging Media had offered. Colossal numbers rolled in one after the other, seven franchises were allotted, and Badale had almost given up, when his name was called out. Jaipur remained the only unpicked franchise yet and Emerging Media’s bid of $67 million managed to scrape through as the last of the winning bids.