By Suramya Kaushik
BENGALURU, June 18 (Reuters) - Indian Premier League champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru have no immediate plans to follow rivals and buy franchises in overseas leagues, co-owner Satyan Gajwani said, as the new owners prioritise fan engagement over expansion.
A consortium including the Aditya Birla Group, Times of India, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone bought the franchise for $1.78 billion in March, ending United Spirits' tenure.
Despite IPL teams including Mumbai Indians, Chennai
Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders building a presence in leagues in the United States, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean, RCB are taking a cautious approach.
"Don't think we have any plans as of now. We're a bit ahead of ourselves as we're still focusing on closing the transaction and then thinking about where we're going from there," Times Internet Chairman Gajwani told Reuters.
"I think RCB as a brand is very centred around Bengaluru and around cricket."
Gajwani said the franchise's immediate focus was on strengthening its core rather than stretching into new markets, even though he acknowledged the brand's global potential.
"The RCB brand warrants a global presence and that could be through other forms like academies that we could do on the ground, it could also be potentially through expanding into franchise cricket and other markets," Gajwani said.
"It's still a little bit in the air to decide whether or not we want to do that."
RCB ended a 17-year wait for the men's IPL title last season and retained it this year, while their women's team have won titles in 2024 and 2026.
However, Gajwani said the consortium's immediate priority is to drive engagement beyond the IPL's two-month window and address the persistent demand-supply gap for tickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium which has a capacity of only 33,800.
"One of the issues we have is the stadium can only fit as many people and it's not easy to buy tickets for RCB games. So, hopefully, we'll find ways to grow the stadium and ways to bring more fans into it," he added.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)
