Shane Warne family to miss out on share of 'mind-boggling' $2.3 billion sale of Rajasthan Royals IPL team
Shane Warne's estate won't see a cent from the sale of his old IPL team despite the Spin King owning a three per cent stake in the franchise.
On Wednesday, the Rajasthan Royals was sold to an American consortium backed by US businessmen Kal Somani and former Walmart chairman Rob Walton for an estimated $2.34 billion - a record for the competition.
But the record only lasted hours, when an even bigger deal was announced hours later for reigning champion Royal Challengers Bangaluru, bought for $2.56 billion by another consortium that includes US billionaire David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures and American asset manager Blackstone.
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The valuations for the two teams mark more than a ten-fold increase from their original 2008 sales.
"It's mind-boggling numbers," Indian legend Sourav Ganguly told local reporters.
Shane Warne spent four seasons as captain/coach of the Royals. AP
"But great news for Indian cricket and the way forward. I think it's already as big as the NBA."
Warne famously came out of retirement to lead the Royals as player, captain and coach in the inaugural season in 2008, in which they would be crowned champions.
As part of the deal, Warne was paid a healthy salary - well north of $600,000 - and crucially also acquired a 0.75 per cent ownership stake for each year he played for the club. He retired again in 2011 after four seasons.
That three per cent stake would have been worth about $70 million in the sale, which was rumoured to be paid to his three children Brooke, Jackson and Summer.
But according to News Corp, ties between the Royals and the Warne family were cut when he died of a heart attack in 2022 aged 52.
Virat Kohli lifts the trophy after RCB won the 2025 IPL final. Getty
The two IPL deals were announced as a proposed $800 million investment in the BBL is on the brink of collapse.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the broad concept involves Cricket Australia selling a 49 per cent share of six clubs, and 100 per cent of one each of the two Melbourne and Sydney clubs. The value of such a sale has ranged between $600-$800 million.
Several state associations are uncomfortable with the proposals, while NSW and SA are drafting their own ideas for a national model for submission to CA.
With the South African T20 gaining momentum - each team is privately owned by conglomerates that also have IPL teams - and plans for a privately-owned league in New Zealand, Australian players could easily be drawn to either competition for a bigger payday. Since its launch in January 2023, the SA20 has signed several players that might otherwise have signed to play in the BBL.
Two rival franchise leagues playing at the same time as the Big Bash puts its status as the second-strongest league behind the IPL at risk. CA chief executive Todd Greenberg told the SMH "the impacts of saying no to privatisation are potentially just as big as saying yes".
The SA20 isn't the only example of investment from IPL teams in cricket outside the sub-continent.
Times Group, another of RCB's new co-owners, is already heavily invested in the American cricket market. It owns Willow, which primarily broadcasts all major cricket matches, including the IPL, in the US.
Major League Cricket, the American T20 competition which launched with six teams in 2023, was launched with heavy support from IPL teams. Chennai Super Kings own the Texas team, while the LA and New York teams are owned by the Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians. MLC is expected to expand to eight teams in 2027.
- with AP
