Only a few days after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated the Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad to win their first Indian Premier League (IPL) championship, there were rumours that the team was up for sale. On Tuesday, the owners of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the BSE Surveillance Department, Diageo India, an Indian division of UK-based Diageo Plc, firmly put an end to the rumours, stating that they were speculative.

According to a previous reports, the British distiller was discussing selling all or a portion of the club with possible consultants. Through United Spirits Ltd., its Indian subsidiary, Diageo owns the team and could demand a valuation of $2 billion.

However, Mital Sanghvi, the corporate secretary, informed the Indian Stock Market's regulatory authority that the rumours had been terminated in a letter to the BSE, "The company would like to clarify that the aforesaid media reports are speculative in nature and it is not pursuing any such discussion. This is for your information and records."

Since Diageo is registered with the BSE, a letter was addressed to the business because the share price had increased due to RCB rumours. Following the speculation on a possible deal, United Spirits' shares rose as much as 3.3% to reach a five-month high in Mumbai trading on Tuesday morning.

The rumours surfaced at a time when the Indian health government is eager to outlaw the IPL's advertising of alcohol and tobacco products. Although it is forbidden to advertise such products in India, Diageo has used famous cricket players to promote other products, such as soda.

The conversations also started at a time when RCB was embroiled in controversy following the unfortunate June 4 event outside the Chinnaswamy. A day after the IPL victory, the team organized a party in the city, drawing almost 2.5 lakh spectators to the Bengaluru home stadium. However, everything descended into pandemonium as a rush claimed 11 lives and injured 56 more. Local authorities have criticized the occurrence and scrutinized event safety more closely, which has put additional pressure on the franchise's ownership as it confronts the possibility of damage to its reputation as a result of the disaster.

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