Arjun Kapoor sends legal notice to Rajasthan Royals over viral IPL 2026 meme — Reports

There are posts on social media platforms that suggest that the Bollywood actor, Arjun Kapoor, has filed a defamation case against the inauguration champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals (RR), after the team allegedly used his image to troll the Punjab Kings with a meme.

The Riyan Parag-led side faced the Mumbai Indians in a do-or-die encounter at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They had to earn a victory in that fixture to make it into the top four, and eventually got the win by 30 runs to eliminate the Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Playoffs. 

Arjun Kapoor reportedly takes legal Action against RR after his face was used in PBKS ‘panga na lo’ meme without consent

There is no official confirmation that Arjun has taken any legal action against the franchise. Many feel that the post from the side is unauthorized in the use of a celebrity’s image, especially in the context of the personality and the publicity rights.

In May this year, the actor secured an interim protection from the Delhi High Court against the misuse of his personality rights. The court restrained the third parties from using his name, voice, likeness, or image.

The court had also observed that while the celebrities have the right to protect their identity and image rights, social media humour, and where the line should be drawn between satire and unauthorized usage. It’s not clear if Arjun had taken the legal action, but the controversy appears to be limited to be deleted post and online discussions.

How Rajasthan Royals used Arjun Kapoor's viral door-slam clip to slam Punjab Kings out of IPL 2026 Playoffs

After the Royals lost their encounter against the Delhi Capitals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the PBKS admin, who had no connection with the game, tweeted ‘sorry bhai, aj nahi.’ It was the effect of RR admin’s reply to the previous clash when they got the better of the Shreyas Iyer-led side in the successful chase of 228 runs.

See Also: Watch: Rajasthan Royals troll Punjab Kings with the savage social media post after booking their IPL 2026 Playoff spot

After the pink franchise sealed the last playoff spot of the competition, they gave a savage social media reply to Punjab’s tweet with ‘panga na lo’ and posted it with a video as it went viral around the social media platforms.

Riyan Parag's RR face Pat Cummins' SRH in IPL 2026 Eliminator in New Chandigarh on May 27

Rajasthan finished the IPL 2026 league stage at the fourth position of the points table, while the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ended at the third position, having earned nine victories in 14 clashes at a strong net run rate (NRR).

See Also: Watch: Ravindra Jadeja mocks Shardul Thakur after smashing no-ball for boundaries during MI vs RR IPL 2026

Both sides will meet each other on May 27 during the Eliminator at the Indian venue, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. 

In the league stage of the event, both sides faced each other twice, with the Sunrisers winning both games in Hyderabad and Jaipur.