Shilpa Shetty, Bollywood’s hot bod, is now part owner of another hot property – the Rajasthan Royals (RR) IPL team that emerged winners of the inaugural season of the league in 2008.
“Raj (Kundra) and my involvement with the team happened because of friends. Raj was in London some time ago where Manoj (Badale, chairman, RR) met him and suggested the idea. We really liked it. I completely relate to the Rajasthan Royals team. My story is similar to the team’s journey to the top. It is an honour to be a part of it,” she said in Mumbai, as she announced her decision to buy a 12 per cent stake in the team with her London-based boyfriend for a whopping $15.4 million (Rs 750 lakhs, approx). And this will change the IPL game plan completely. Shilpa agrees, “There is a lot of money involved here. The money that Raj and I have invested has changed a lot for the team. It has totalled up to become one of the highest investments in sports today.”
Later in the day, when she spoke to DT from Nasik, where she was shooting, the sexy actress was every bit in her element. “I am associated with the team to add the glamour quotient. That’s the only thing the team lacked,” she says. And besides the glam quotient, Shilpa is also serious about using her image to prop up the brand of her team. “I intend to leverage my name to help the team and I want to focus on branding, marketing and merchandising, which the team didn’t do last year,” she says, sounding very much like the CEO of a company. That Shilpa and boyfriend Raj mean business was evident from the fact that both said the acquisition was a calculated business move and pointed out that it makes good business sense to acquire the team that lifted the IPL trophy last year. But does she understand cricket? “Well, I am new to all this, so I would sound fake if I really go into the details of things. I’ve been a cricket fan, but I can’t tell which cricketer scored what and when. I must confess that in the last season of IPL, I placed my bet on RR and won because they won. So I guess I was destined to be a part of this team.”
Does that mean that like Preity, she’s planning to give her time and energy to this new passion? “Not at all,” she laughs. “Films will never take a backseat for me. I’ll be doing a balancing act between my films and the IPL schedule. But, yes I will definitely be present for most of the matches of RR,” she says. Shilpa also plans to coming up with a new video for the team. “We are working on the concept, and we’ll soon decide where to shoot it,” she says. And which players will she and Raj bid for tomorrow? “I can’t reveal the names of the players we are considering for our team. But I must tell you that like every other team owner, even we would want the best for our team. Also, my endeavour would be to try and take the team to a new global level, at least to the UK and Australia, where a lot of people know who I am as well. I am excited, happy and nervous. But I know that I am going to love each moment of this new venture I have entered,” she concludes.
‘The team’s success
story last year was an inspiration for me. That’s why I am investing in this team’
– Raj Kundra, Shilpa’s boyfriend
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