Ananya Birla Spotted Cheering RCB From Stands After Takeover, Visuals From IPL 2026 Opener Go Viral

RCB's new owner Ananya Birla was in attendance as the defending champions began their IPL 2026 campaign against SRH in Bengaluru. Birla, a known RCB fan, was wearing the new season' kit at the Chinnaswamy Stadium days after her Aditya Birla Group-led consortium completed a record ₹16,706 Crore of the franchise.

Birla was spotted by the broadcast cameras, watching the game from the stands at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. She was sitting alongside RCB Women's cricketers Smriti Mandhana and Shreyanka Patil, with Jemimah Rodrigues and Virat Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma also for company.

Birla was also active on social media, sharing glimpses from the game in Bengaluru. She shared a picture of the players celebrating after Phil Salt took a stunning catch to dismiss the in-form Ishan Kishan.

Ananya Birla has been the talk of the town ever since the Aditya Birla Group's takeover of RCB. Earlier this week, a consortium of Aditya Birla Group, The Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures, and private equity firm Blackstone completed the purchase of RCB for a record ₹16,706 Crore.

The sale includes both men's and women's team, who are both reigning champions in IPL and WPL. Under the revised ownership setup, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Ananya's brother, will take on the role of chairman, while Satyan Gajwani from The Times of India Group will serve as vice chairman. The consortium also includes David Blitzer, founder of Bolt Ventures, and Viral Patel, CEO of BXPE.