WATCH: Vijay Mallya reveal reason behind buying Royal Challengers Bengaluru at IPL

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has finally broken the jinx, winning the IPL trophy after 18 years of hard work and resilience. After defeating Punjab Kings in the final, RCB lifted the IPL 2025 and ended the trophy drought. After this historic moment, the fugitive and the first owner of RCB, Vijay Mallya, took to his social media account to reveal his emotions about the franchise he bought.

In a podcast, Mallya disclosed the reasons behind the bid for the Bengaluru-based franchise from the auction. Mallya also claimed that he actually bid for three franchises from the auction, including Mumbai Indians, which was eventually bought by Mukesh Ambani, and Vijay got the franchise from Bengaluru.

"I was very impressed with the pitch that Lalit Modi made to the BCCI committee about this league. He called me one day and said, Ok, teams are going to be auctioned. Are you going to buy it? So, I bid on three franchises, and I lost Mumbai by a very small amount of money," Mallya said this on a podcast.

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But why did he decide to make an investment in the newly formed league?

In simple words, Mallya saw their business and opportunity. The fugitive businessman said that he saw huge potential in the Indian Premier League, a table turner for Indian cricket. So he wanted to create something huge that could influence people on and off the field. From that thought, he decided to add the brand of Royal Challenge to the franchise. 

"When I bid for the RCB franchise in 2008, I saw the IPL as a game-changer for Indian cricket. My vision was to create a team that embodied the spirit of Bangalore—vibrant, dynamic, and glamorous. I paid $112 million, the second-highest bid, because I believed in the potential. I wanted RCB to be a brand that stood for excellence, not just on the field but off it too. That's why I tied it to Royal Challenge, one of our top-selling liquor brands, to give it that bold identity," Vijay Mallya informed us on the podcast.