The champion of the inaugural IPL season Rajasthan Royals might return next season under a new name after they made a request to BCCI to change the name of its parent company ahead of IPL 2018.
“They have made the request but no reason has been given as to why they want to change the company name,” a BCCI official revealed.
The Rajasthan Royals along with Chennai Super Kings were ban for a period of two-years in 2015 over a corruption scandal that affected the T20 league. The owner of two franchises Raj Kundra and Gurunath Meiyappan was found guilty in an illegal betting scandal and were banned from all activities for life.
After a two-year absence, Rajasthan Royals and one of the most successful IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings are set to return to IPL action. The Royals owner which is Jaipur Cricket Private Limited is very keen to start the second string Rajasthan Royals under a new name. The idea behind changing the name could be an image-cleansing ploy following the bad press that had come their way in the wake of the suspension.
While Rajasthan is looking to change their name Kings XI Punjab has requested the BCCI (not for the first-time) regarding shifting from Mohali. Kings XI Punjab was bought for $76 million in 2007 with Mohali as their official home base.
The reason for a new base as per the franchise is due to lack of support from the state association, trouble with local authorities and lack of a fan base which has allegedly resulted in low return as the main factor in regards to moving out of Mohali.