Bengaluru franchise was not Vijay Mallya's first choice: Lalit Modi

After being out of the spotlight for years, former RCB owner Vijay Mallya recently made a rare public appearance on Raj Shamani's podcast, sharing details on how he founded RCB and the early days of the IPL. Mallya ultimately paid $112 million, or roughly ₹600–700 crore in 2008, to acquire the reigning champs. 

One of the few well-known figures in the nation to be linked to the league from its very first edition was Mallya. In 2008, he paid USD 111.6 million to purchase the Bengaluru-based franchise, which he renamed Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

It's interesting to note that Lalit Modi, the man behind the Indian Premier League, has praised his friend Mallya and revealed some information. Bengaluru was never Mallya's first choice, according to the former IPL chairman. However, the former RCB owner expressed interest in owning a franchise from Mumbai but lost out to the Ambani family, who went on to build the Mumbai Indians. 

"His first choice was Mumbai, and he lost it by just USD 200,000 in the big auction. He got Bangalore (now Bengaluru), and rightfully so, because it is his birth city, home city, and it is where he came from. And RCB is what it is because Mallya made it at that time. It was Mallya's second choice, right? But the best choice for me," mentioned Modi to Cricbuzz. 

Modi, who is known for having contributed millions of dollars to the BCCI's coffers before becoming disenchanted with its leadership, also disclosed that Mallya picked Kohli, but the Delhi team (then known as the Delhi Daredevils) did not. 

Mallya believed there was no better way to market his whisky brand internationally than through the IPL when it was first formed. Mallaya desired two IPL teams to endorse his two companies, Royal Challenge (a whisky brand) and Kingfisher. 

According to Mallya, he dubbed the franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore in order to give it a distinctive identity by connecting it to one of their best-selling liquor brands.

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