5 IPL owners who were involved in controversy

The Indian Premier League(IPL) is one of the richest and top franchise leagues in T20 cricket which has been there for over 15 years. It is still currently the most successful franchise league in the world right now with a lot of fans and money. The success of this league has led to a lot of talented players and gave birth to another format in cricket. There is no doubt that the IPL was involved in changing the course of cricket completely and becoming one of the most-watched leagues in the world with billions of people witnessing some great matches with a lot of legendary and upcoming players in the ranks. The growth of the league has been increasing day by day with a lot of exciting games and players being watched and celebrated on the big stage.

However, something growing so rapidly and vast will face its fair share of bad media as well due to incidents and circumstances. However we are not talking about any player or team, but about the team owners. These people are the people who are responsible for giving the team an identity and planning behind the marketing and popularity of the teams. They are also involved in planning the best team to win the titles. It is safe to say that these people might not be involved in the operations on the field, but still are some of the important faces who keep the image and respect of the team in the balance.

There is no surprise that if these people get into trouble, especially in the tournament it will create a bad image for the team as well. The controversies where these individuals were involved did not only affect them personally but also affected the team they were involved with as well. These controversies tell us that one wrong step can cause a lot of problems in the long run and hurt even the people who are close to you.

Without further ado here are the five IPL franchise owners who were involved in controversies that have caused a lot of problems for the teams they were involved with:

5. Siddharta Mallya

Siddharta Mallya is the son of well-known businessman Vijay Mallya the owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB). The year was 2011 when Siddharta was there in every RCB game cheering for the team sitting alongside his rumoured ex-girlfriend and Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone. All hell broke loose when during an RCB victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) at the Eden Gardens, the two were shown to be kissing each other with all the cameras focussing on them. This did not go well with the people since they thought it was inappropriate since there were also a lot of families and kids watching the matches as well.

4. Raj Kundra

Well-known businessman and husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra was also known to be the owner of IPL 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals(RR). Kundra was questioned on the allegations of being involved in betting during IPL 2013. This was not a good look for the team with the owner stuck in the case of spot fixing scandal as well. This eventually led to RR being banned for 2 years after 2015 as well and the allegations were a bad look for the team. This was surely the darkest moment for the IPL franchise which had affected them deeply.

3. Shah Rukh Khan

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most popular people in the country and it made sense that the celebrated actor would own 2 time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR). The only thing Shahrukh would want to forget is the 2015 incident at the Wankhede stadium where the star was involved in a war of words with a security guard who was not allowing his children to play on the ground after the match. This caused a lot of problems which led to the Maharashtra Cricket Association(MCA) banning him for 5 years on the grounds of terrible behaviour with the security and staff.

2. N Srinivasan

N Srinivasan apart from being the former president of the Indian Cricket Board is also the owner of 5 time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings(CSK). With being in the politics of the game for a long time there is no doubt that he has faced a fair share of controversies as well. Srinivasan was said to be in talks with then-commissioner Lalit Modi about removing Thisara Perera from the squad for English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. When these chats went public after an argument between the two, it caused a lot of problems for Srinivasan. His name was brought up in the betting scandals as well led to CSK being banned after 2015, which was a dark moment in the otherwise flawless record of CSK.

1. Ness Wadia

Ness Wadia has been involved in one of the wildest controversies in the IPL which has led to a lot of problems for the businessman. The 2009 controversy caused a lot of problems, Wadia and his fellow co-owner Mohit Burman were harassing a female spectator during a match. Unfortunately, the spectator turned out to be the daughter of Sahara group owner Ajay Gupta who got the two beaten up by security. This put Wadia in a terrible situation where then chairman Lalit Modi had to settle the matter between the two to avoid any more negative media. This was perhaps the first wild incident involving Wadia before he was alleged by an ex-girlfriend and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta for molesting her.