Know the entire story of how Rajasthan Royals' $1.65 billion deal sparked a shareholder dispute before IPL 2027

Billionaire Lakhmi Mittal’s plan to get the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise has sparked a lawsuit, with the minority shareholders of the company that owns the team alleging they are being forced to give up their shares, which are worth around $50 million, for just $1.33.

Emerging Media Ventures Ltd., which indirectly owns a majority stake in the IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals, was sued by two minority shareholders, who alleged the company wrongly accused them of misconduct. It denied them their cut from the proceeds of the $1.65 billion sale of the franchise.

Inside the Mittal-led takeover and the London lawsuit over minority shareholder claims

The emerging media ventures haven’t filed their defence to the lawsuit, as the lawyers didn’t respond to a request for comment. The dispute is centred around one of the richest assets in global cricket after the popularity of the sport’s shorter format exploded with the 20-over franchise competition.

This features franchises backed by billionaires, including Mukesh Ambani and Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan. The tournament grew into a powerful global entertainment after its inaugural season in 2008, which the Rajasthan side won.  

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Mittal was born in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan in 1950. The vaccine tycoon, Adar Poonwalla, agreed to buy the franchise earlier this year as the deal came soon after an Indian billionaire bought reigning champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), at about $1.8 billion.

The Emerging Media Ventures sent letters in May, accusing the minority shareholders of breaching the firm’s conduct rules. The letters alleged that Manish Patel invested in a team in the National Cricket League in the US.

How Rajasthan Royals fared in IPL 2026: 4th-place finish, playoff run, and Sooryavanshi's Orange Cap

Rajasthan Royals (RR) finished the group stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 in fourth position on the points table. They earned eight victories in 14 clashes with 16 points at a net run rate of +0.189. They beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad in New Chandigarh during the 243-run defence to qualify for the second qualifier of the event against the Gujarat Titans.

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However, the Riyan Parag-led side couldn’t do well against the Titans in the 214-run defence as the Titans went over the line in the 215-run chase by seven wickets to reach the final of the IPL 2026.

Their best performer of the campaign was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who finished the season as the leading run-getter with 776 runs in 16 innings at an average of 48.50 and a blistering strike rate of 237.31.