Vijay Mallya didn’t initially prefer the Bengaluru franchise: Lalit Modi

Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), recently talked about how Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was not being acquired at one point. Currently residing in the UK, Lalit Modi remarked on the unexpected founding of the team in 2008 and lauded RCB’s recent IPL 2025 championship victory.

Lalit Modi said that the Ambanis had outbid the flamboyant businessman and former RCB owner Vijay Mallya, who had initially intended to buy the Mumbai franchise. He disclosed that since Bengaluru was his hometown, he later received it justly. Additionally, the IPL founder stated that Mallya was the first to support and show interest in the league’s conception.

Regarding my good friend Vijay Mallya, there is a lot of debate. He was the first to join the IPL and the first to naively support it before anyone else did, without even considering a business plan. In the major auction, he lost his first pick, Mumbai, by a mere USD 200,000. He received Bangalore (now Bengaluru), and with good reason—it is the city of his birth, his home, and his origin.

“And Mallya made it at that time, which is why RCB is what it is. Wasn’t it Mallya’s backup plan? But for me, that was the finest option. It most certainly would not have been RCB and would have been something entirely different if it had been another buyer. “But as we sit here today, Vijay Mallya had the understanding and the foresight to get the Bangalore team, number one,” Modi told Cricbuzz.

I was quite impressed with Lalit Modi’s pitch: Vijay Mallya

Additionally, Lalit Modi discussed Virat Kohli’s league debut and the RCB team’s long-standing faith in him. Modi claims that during the first season’s draft, Kohli was an uncapped India A player available for a set price of $10,000 USD.

Delhi did not choose Virat despite having the first pick. Vijay Mallya had the wisdom to choose him even though he could have passed on him as well. You must realise that when Virat was a young player, no one knew him. This was the India A team, and they were going at a set price of USD 10,000 when it came time to select the uncapped players.

The first pick went to Delhi. Virat was not chosen by them. He could have gone to someone else or been let go by Vijay Mallya, but he had the wisdom to choose Virat. Virat also established it as his home base. He said, “And now, eighteen years later, Virat and his team have won the IPL and conquered the IPL.”

Mallya, who most recently appeared on a podcast with Raj Shamani, affirmed Modi’s account, gave some insight into the early IPL bidding history, and gave an explanation of why he chose to bid on Bengaluru.

“Lalit Modi’s presentation to the BCCI committee for this league really impressed me. One day, he called me and said, “All right, teams will be up for auction.” Will you purchase it? As a result, I placed bids from three franchises and lost Mumbai by a very slim margin. I thought the IPL would revolutionise Indian cricket when I placed my 2008 offer for the RCB franchise.

“I wanted to build a workforce that reflected Bangalore’s vibrant, energetic, and beautiful culture. I saw the potential and placed the second-highest price of $112 million. I envisioned RCB as a brand that embodied brilliance both on and off the pitch. To give it that daring personality, I thus connected it to Royal Challenge, one of our best-selling spirits brands’, Mallya stated.