Rajasthan Royals demands a change in name, Kings XI Punjab not happy with Mohali

Rajasthan Royals will be back in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) from the 2018 season after serving a 2-year ban. The franchise was banned from taking part in the tournament along with the Chennai Super Kings due to a spot-fixing scandal. However, the Royals are now back in the scenario and with a unique request to the BCCI.

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According to reports, the franchise wishes to change the name of its parent company before the upcoming season. At present, the franchise is officially owned by Jaipur IPL Cricket Private Limited. The BCCI believes that this is just the first of the many requests that the Royals will come up with as they intend to renovate the team in order to start afresh in the next season.

“They have made the request but no reason has been given as to why they want to change the company name,” a BCCI official added. It can be concluded that the team is keen on putting down the name of ‘Rajasthan Royals’ to wash away the accusations and the black mark that got attached to it because of the spot-fixing scandal.

There is a possibility that the franchise would also ask the BCCI to shift them out of Jaipur. In this case, the Kings XI Punjab have also asked for a shift of base from Mohali. According to the Preity Zinta owned franchise, they have been facing a lack of support from the state associations and problems from the local authorities at Mohali. Not only that, but the franchise also complained about the lack of fan support for the team in the city which has affected its income.

According to the franchise, Pune and Indore has a much larger fan base for the team than in Mohali. “They had bid for Mohali when the first-ever auction took place for IPL teams. So technically, if they want to change their base now, they will have to pay the BCCI. They have made this request earlier too but the board did not agree. The franchise has been facing many issues with the local police authorities. They have also cited lack of support from the Punjab Cricket Association. If they are allowed then chances are that their name will also change. It will be as per the new venue. The IPL GC will take a call on it,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.