With the new season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) just around the corner, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals are both making headlines.
RCB has recently been acquired by a consortium led by Aditya Birla Group, The Times of India and Blackstone, with Aryaman Birla set to serve as the chairman. The franchise was sold to the consortium for a total consideration of Rs 16,660 crore.
Aryaman is set to become the latest of the India Inc. leaders to lead an IPL team and a latest indicator that the league is fast-becoming a playground for India Inc's next generation.
In this special infographic series, we will take a look at how key IPL teams are now being headed by India Inc. leaders.
Mumbai Indians
Reliance Industries, India's largest and most valuable conglomerate, pioneered the corporatisation of the IPL by acquiring the Mumbai Indians prior to the inaugural 2008 season for $111.9 million.
While patriarch Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita Ambani remain the central figureheads and principal owners, the day-to-day strategic operations, roster management, and auction masterminding have been firmly handed over to their eldest son, Akash Ambani.
Akash, who simultaneously serves as the Chairman of Reliance Jio, has integrated Silicon Valley-style data analytics, artificial intelligence, and predictive modelling into the MI scouting network.
Lucknow Super Giants
The RPSG Group, a massive Kolkata-based multinational conglomerate led by Sanjiv Goenka, secured the rights to the Lucknow franchise in October 2021 with a staggering, record-breaking bid of Rs 7,090 crore.
Sanjiv Goenka embodies the aggressive "India Inc. bad boy". He demands immediate, tangible returns and possesses a history of controversial sports management decisions, including previously sacking MS Dhoni as captain during his ownership of the Rising Pune Supergiant, as well as his infamous conversation with KL Rahul.
Meanwhile, his son, Shashwat Goenka, represents the measured, analytical, and highly structured future of the conglomerate.
Serving as the Vice Chairman of the RPSG Group and holding the official title of Chairman of the Lucknow Super Giants, Shashwat handles the strategic and operational execution of the entire sports portfolio.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad is wholly owned by the Sun TV Network Ltd., a massive media and broadcasting conglomerate chaired by Kalanithi Maran.
While Maran oversees broader corporate strategy, the day-to-day executive leadership of SRH is firmly in the hands of his daughter, Kaviya Maran.
Serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Kaviya is arguably the most recognisable, visible, and intensely involved next-generation owner in the league.
Since officially taking charge of the franchise's operations in 2018, she has personally spearheaded the team's auction strategies, global talent acquisition, and overall management infrastructure.
Under Kaviya's direct leadership, the Sun Group's sports dominance has expanded significantly beyond domestic borders. She oversees not only SRH but also the Sunrisers Eastern Cape franchise in South Africa's SA20 league, and the Sunrisers Leeds team in the UK's The Hundred tournament.
Delhi Capitals
The Delhi Capitals franchise operates under a unique corporate governance structure: a 50:50 joint venture between the infrastructure-focused GMR Group and the massive steel and energy conglomerate JSW Group (led by Sajjan Jindal).
This structure features a rotational chairmanship that shifts every two years between the two owning families. Representing the JSW Group is Parth Jindal, the scion of the massive industrial empire.
As the Chairman of Delhi Capitals and the CEO of Bengaluru FC (in the Indian Super League), Parth is known for his highly animated, vocal presence in the stadium.
He is deeply involved in the minutiae of team operations, from formulating auction bidding algorithms to publicly advocating for structural changes in Indian cricket governance.
Recently, he has been a highly vocal proponent of expanding the Women's Premier League (WPL) to include new teams and adopt a home-and-away format.
Kolkata Knight Riders
While not traditional "India Inc." industrialists, the management evolution of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) represents the most successful amalgamation of Bollywood star power.
The franchise is governed by Knight Riders Sports Private Limited, traditionally operating as a joint venture between Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment (holding a 55% stake) and the Mehta Group (holding a 45% stake), led by industrialist Jay Mehta and actress Juhi Chawla.
Reports indicate that Shah Rukh Khan is executing a massive buyout of a significant portion of the Mehta Group's minority stake. This internal acquisition is reportedly worth Rs 4,000 crore, designed to give Khan near-total operational and equity control over the franchise.
Aryan Khan and Suhana Khan, alongside Jay Mehta's daughter Jahnavi Mehta, are now the active, operational faces of the franchise's executive board.
Since the 2022 mega-auctions, Aryan and Suhana have physically represented KKR at the bidding tables, executing complex player acquisition strategies formulated in conjunction with CEO Venky Mysore and the franchise's data analytics department.
They have played a key role in KKR's highly aggressive global expansion strategy. The Knight Riders corporate brand now spans the IPL, the CPL (Trinbago Knight Riders), the ILT20 (Abu Dhabi), and Major League Cricket (Los Angeles Knight Riders).
Gujarat Titans
Ahead of the 2026 season, the Torrent Group acquired a 67% stake in Gujarat Titans from CVC Capital Partners, marking its entry into sports. The Ahmedabad-based conglomerate, with a market cap of around ₹2 lakh crore, has positioned the franchise as a long-term strategic asset.
Jinal Mehta has taken over as Chairman and Managing Director of the Gujarat Titans, with Shaan Mehta as Director. The duo is focusing on a culture-first approach rather than reacting impulsively to results. At the “Shubharambh 2026” launch, Shaan stressed that culture remains central regardless of on-field outcomes.
Framing the team as an extension of “Gujarati pride,” the Mehtas are prioritising long-term brand building, fan connection, and stability—signalling a more measured, next-gen corporate approach to managing a high-stakes sports franchise.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
This brings us to our final team, Royal Bengaluru Challengers, now owned by an Aditya Birla Group-led consortium with Aryaman Birla, incidentally a former Rajasthan Royals player, serving as the chairman.
Notably, during his domestic career, he opened the batting alongside current RCB captain Rajat Patidar, granting him an unprecedented, peer-to-peer relationship with the current roster.
Aryaman possesses what traditional, dictatorial corporate executives lack: lived experience within the high-pressure environment of a professional cricket dressing room.
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