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Days ahead of the opening of IPL 2026 season, the United Spirits Limited has announced that it has entered into agreements for the sale of the 100% equity stake held in its wholly owned subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited — which owns and operates Royal Challengers Bengaluru.It has been sold to a consortium comprising Aditya Birla Group, The Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE for a total consideration of ₹ 166.6 billion.“Upon completion of this transaction, the consortium will, through its ownership of RCSPL, acquire the rights to own and operate the…

According to government data, more than 7,500 domestic and commercial PNG connections had been issued or activated on Monday in the country’s top 110 geographical areas. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram Spurring the government’s objective of accelerating the transition from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to piped natural gas (PNG), the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), in an order dated March 23, asked city gas distributors (CGD) to make “all out efforts” to provision piped gas to residential schools and colleges, hostels, community kitchens and anganwadi kitchens, etc, within five days, subject to infrastructural feasibility.Additionally, the regulator has sought…

A pink-coloured bus being prepared for the Rajasthan Royals team ahead of the Indian Premier League at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. File | Photo Credit: ANI In a significant development, a consortium led by U.S.-based entrepreneur Kal Somani has won the bid to acquire the Rajasthan Royals franchise in the Indian Premier League.The consortium, which was competing against a Birla Group-backed bid and the Times of India group, is understood to have submitted an offer of approximately $1.63 billion. The change in ownership is expected to come into effect from June.Somani, who is already an investor in Rajasthan Royals, has business interests spanning ed-tech, data privacy, artificial…

KKR team members during ‘Knights Unplugged 3.0’ event in Kolkata on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: PTI Three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Tuesday named middle-order batter Rinku Singh as its vice-captain for the 2026 season.At the Knights Unplugged 3.0 event here, KKR CEO Venky Mysore made the announcement while presenting the players and the support staff.Starting from the team’s newest recruit, left-arm seamer Saurabh Dubey, KKR showcased all its available players, including the towering duo of Cameron Green and Blessing Muzarabani before inviting captain Ajinkya Rahane and his newly-appointed deputy Rinku.With KKR facing problems due…

Dayal, who was retained by RCB for ₹5 crore, will have to sit out the high-profile T20 competition. | Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Yash Dayal will not be a part of the side for IPL 2026, RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat said here on Tuesday.Bobat added that Dayal, who faces legal issues (sexual assault charges), remains under contract with RCB, and has the support of the franchise as he “goes through his personal situation”.“Yash will not be joining up with the squad. He is going through a personal situation currently. We’ve been very…

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded by nearly 2% on Tuesday (March 24, 2026), tracking a relief rally in Asian peers after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a temporary halt on strikes targeting Iranian energy infrastructure.The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,372.06 points or 1.89% to settle at 74,068.45. During the day, it soared 1,793 points or 2.46% to 74,489.39.The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 399.75 points or 1.78% to end at 22,912.40.Power Grid and State Bank of India were the only laggards from the pack.Mr. Trump said on social media that he has extended the deadline for Iran to reopen…

Delhi Capitals’ mentor Kevin Pietersen with KL Rahul during a practice session ahead of the IPL T20 cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Friday, April 18, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI Delhi Capitals (DC), one of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) original franchises, are still chasing that elusive maiden trophy. They were able to make it into the final in 2020 but the silverware slipped through their fingers.With six playoff appearances, DC’s journey has been a rollercoaster packed with fire, flair and heart-stopping near-misses, but the big prize remains just out of…

In this image received on March 23, 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli during a practice session ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Photo: RCB via PT Royal Challengers Bengaluru players will train wearing jersey No.11 during match days in the upcoming IPL and the franchise also plans to mark 11 permanent seats in honour of the fans who died in a tragic stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in 2025.The fans had lost their lives in Bengaluru on June 4, 2025 in a stampede that was triggered…

When cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar first saw tigress Junabai in the buffer zone of Madnapur at the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, Sunil Mehta told the ‘god of cricket’ that he had “just licked the opium”. When a puzzled Sachin asked why Sunil, pioneer of the COCOON community-based Nature conservancy model, replied, “When you go back to your busy schedule in Mumbai, you will start missing it here. You will come back again, and again, and again. That’s the power of the tiger.” Evidently, Sachin has frequently visited Tadoba and Gothangaon for tiger safaris, most recently in November 2024, to…

MS Dhoni with AR Rahman during the Roar 26 event held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on March 22, 2026 | Photo Credit: Chennai Super Kings/YouTube What did MS Dhoni tell AR Rahman at Chepauk?That’s the big question in the minds of fans of Chennai Super Kings, who were treated to a big celebration at the recent ‘Roar 26’ event. And it seems that the conversation revolved around his Tamil melody track, ‘Munbe Vaa’ (from the Suriya-starrer Sillunu Oru Kadhal, sung by Shreya Ghoshal).Post his musical performance at the MA Chidambaram stadium, Rahman sauntered across to have a…