Yeh afwaahein achanak nahi uthi; United Spirits, jo RCB ke maalik hain, unke stake bechne ki khabar ne yeh hungama shuru kiya. Media mein charcha thi ki shayad Shivakumar is bade franchise mein hissa lene ki soch rahe hain. Lekin unhone ek jordaar jawaab diya: “Why do I need RCB? I don’t even drink Royal Challenge!” Yeh sunte hi fans ke chehre pe hasi aa gayi, par saath hi thodi si nirasha bhi hui. Kyunki RCB ke fans toh har saal ek nayi ummeed ke saath apni team ko dekhte hain, chahe woh trophy jeete ya na jeete.
RCB ki baat karein toh yeh team kabhi bhi chhoti nahi rahi. 2008 se IPL mein apna jalwa dikha rahi hai, par trophy ka safar hamesha adhoora sa raha. 2025 mein jab Rajat Patidar ki captaincy mein RCB ne Punjab Kings ko final mein harakar apna pehla IPL trophy jeeta, toh Bengaluru ke Chinnaswamy Stadium ke bahar 2.5 lakh fans jashn mana rahe the. Yeh woh pal tha jab har RCB fan ka dil khushi se jhoom utha. Lekin yeh bhi sach hai ki RCB ka safar hamesha asaan nahi raha. Virat Kohli jaisa superstar ho ya Chris Gayle jaisa explosive batsman, team ne hamesha bade naam rakhe, par consistency mein thodi kami rahi. Kabhi bowling weak padti, toh kabhi batting bikhar jati. Fir bhi, har saal fans apni wafadaari dikhate hain, chahe team jeete ya haare.
Ab thodi si baat Punjab Kings ki bhi kar lete hain, kyunki woh bhi is kahani ka hissa hain. Punjab Kings, jise pehle Kings XI Punjab kehte the, kabhi bhi IPL ki sabse badi team nahi rahi. Hamesha RCB, Mumbai Indians ya Chennai Super Kings jaisi teams ke saamne unka naam thoda chhota laga. Par dekha jaye toh Punjab ka dil bada hai. 2014 mein jab woh final tak pahunche, Glenn Maxwell aur David Miller ke dhamakedaar performances ne sabko hairaan kar diya tha. Us saal unhone RCB ko bhi ek match mein 5 wickets se hara diya tha, jab George Bailey ki captaincy mein team ne 198 ka target defend kiya. Yeh yaad dilata hai ki chhoti teams bhi bade dhamake kar sakti hain. 2025 ke final mein bhi Punjab ne RCB ko kadi takkar di, par Rajat Patidar aur unki team ne baazi maar li. Punjab ke fans ke liye yeh thodi si chubhan toh banta hai, par unka junoon bhi kam nahi hai.
Shivakumar ka yeh kehna ki “Main pagal nahi hoon” aur “Mujhe RCB ki zarurat nahi hai” ek tarah se un afwaahon ka khatma tha. Unka yeh style, thodi si mazakiya andaaz mein baat bolna, logon ko pasand aaya. X pe ek post mein @AbhishekSay ne likha ki Shivakumar ne rumours ko “epic” andaaz mein khatam kiya. Yeh baat sach bhi hai, kyunki Shivakumar ka cricket se purana rishta hai – woh Karnataka Cricket Association ke member rahe hain. Par yeh bhi sach hai ki unhone RCB ke IPL jeetne ke baad players ke saath photo khinchwayi, jo shayad thodi si siyasi chamak ke liye tha. @PoliticalViewsO ne ispe taana bhi kasa ki yeh political mileage ke liye kiya gaya. Par chhodo, cricket aur politics ka toh purana naata hai
Lekin yeh sochne wali baat hai ki RCB jaisi team ke saath itni badi khabar kyun jud gayi? United Spirits ne apne statement mein saaf kiya ki stake bechne ki koi baat nahi hai. 10 June 2025 ko Bombay Stock Exchange ko likhe letter mein unhone kaha ki yeh sab afwaahein “speculative” hain. Toh shayad yeh sab ek badi misunderstanding thi. Par is chakkar mein RCB ke fans ka dil thoda sa toota, kyunki har fan chahta hai ki unki team ke maalik woh ho jo dil se team ko samjhe. Shivakumar ka mazakiya jawaab sunne ke baad logon ne hasi toh, par shayad dil ke ek kone mein yeh bhi socha ki kash koi aisa aaye jo RCB ko aur bhi majboot kare.
Aakhir mein, yeh afwaahein khatam toh ho gayi, par cricket ka jadoo waisa hi hai. RCB ho ya Punjab Kings, har team ke fans ka pyar unhe jeet ke maidaan mein le jata hai. Lekin jab baat RCB jaisi badi team ki aati hai, toh har khabar pe nazar rehti hai. Shivakumar ne toh apna stand saaf kar diya, par yeh cricket ka maidaan hai – yahan afwaahein bhi utni hi tezi se daudti hain jitni Kohli ki cover drive. Ab dekhna yeh hai ki agla IPL season kya naya drama laata hai, ya fir wahi purani kahani – ummeed, jashn, aur thodi si dil tootne wali baat.
