Amrit Thomas to be new head of Royal Challengers Bangalore

The king of good times is surely going through the worst time of his life. Finding himself in numerous tight spots, troubled businessman Vijay Mallya has stepped down as director Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd (RCSPL), which runs the Royals Challengers Bangalore IPL franchise.

The newly appointed chairman of RCSPL, Amrit Thomas, will run the RCB franchise from now on and he will be the point-of-contact with the Board of Cricket for Control in India. RCSPL is a fully owned subsidiary of United Spirits, which is a part of the Diageo Plc, a UK-based business group. However, Thomas will continue to perform his original role as the president and chief marketing officer of United Spirits.

Mallya, who is currently in England, is embroiled in deep trouble as several of his businesses have collapsed and he is currently a subject of several investigations by federal authorities in India. On February 25, he stepped down from his positions as non-executive director and chairman at United Spirits.

Chief mentor of the franchise

However, his association with the franchise remains as he is now the chief mentor of the franchise. He bought the Royal Royals Challengers Bangalore franchise in 2008 for a whopping $111.6 million.

"I have been passionate about this team since inception and am determined to do whatever I can to win the IPL trophy. I am glad that my son, Siddharth, will remain as a director [of Royal Challengers Bangalore] as he is equally passionate about RCB," Mallya had said in a media release.

According to a report in the Indian Express, the RCB franchise has intimated this news to the BCCI in a letter that was marked to BCCI President Shashank Manohar, board secretary Anurag Thakur and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla.

"Dr Mallya will have the honorary title of chief mentor for as long as his son Siddharth Mallya remains on the RCSPL board. This is the limited role which enables the various members of the RCSPL board should they wish to consult him. In light of the above, this letter is to confirm to you that following this change, Dr Mallya has no longer authority to represent or bind RCSPL or RCB team and its operations. Dr Mallya's resignation has not resulted in any change of ownership or control of RCSPL or USL, or any transfer of any part of the business of RCSPL," the letter stated.

Mallya is known to be deeply associated with the RCB team but the current predicament somehow doesn‘t look too good for him. It will be interesting to see how Mallya dons the mentorship role for the franchise.