File photo of Aryaman Birla© X (Twitter)
A consortium led by Aditya Birla Group completed the purchase of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru for Rs 1.78 billion (more than Rs 16,000 crore) on Tuesday. The consortium also consists of Times of India Group, David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures and US-based Blackstone investment group. The consortium agreed the deal with United Spirits Limited (USL), a subsidiary of UK-Diageo plc to acquire 100 percent stake of RCB – both the men’s and women’s (WPL) teams. Following the acquisition, Aryaman Birla will become the chairman of the franchise.
Who is Aryaman Birla?
Aryaman Birla is the son of Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairperson of Aditya Birla Group. The 28-year-old is a former crickter who played for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket. He shared the dressing room with RCB captain Rajat Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer – the all-rounder who was acquired for Rs 7 crore in the auction.
The left-handed batter played nine first-class matches for Madhya Pradesh and scored 414 runs, icluding one century against Bengal at the Eden Gardens. He also scored 36 runs in four List-A matches.
Aryaman enrolled in the IPL 2018 mega auction and was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 30 lakh. However, he did not play a single match for the franchise and was released ahead of the 2020 season.
It was the around the same time that Aryaman decided to take a ‘sabbatical’ from cricket to cope with ‘severe anxiety’.
“I have felt trapped. I have pushed myself through all the distress so far but now I feel the need to put my mental health and well being above all else,” Birla wrote on Instagram. “We all have our own journeys and I want to take this time to understand myself better, open my mind to new and varied perspectives and seek purpose in my findings.”
He did not return to cricket and is currently the director of the Aditya Birla Management Corporation Limited.
What did Aryaman Birla say?
“It is a privilege to come together in this partnership to shape the next phase of growth for RCB. This partnership brings together a deep understanding of sports, media and consumer businesses.”