Thousands of fans of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) might have wished they were at the Eden Gardens to witness a thumping 7-wicket win over holders Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) opener on Saturday.

One of those fans was a certain Vijay Mallya, who was celebrating the RCB win from thousands of miles away. The former owner of the IPL franchise, who faces arrest if he returns to India, wanted for financial fraud, posted a congratulatory message on the social media platform X.

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"Congratulations to RCB for the emphatic win over KKR. Glad to hear the commentators finally say that RCB bowled well. The batting line up speaks for itself," Mallya posted shortly after Virat Kohli's unbeaten 59 gave Rajat Patidar a memorable debut as captain.

Mallya, who owned the franchise for eight seasons from the inaugural edition in 2008, resides in the United Kingdom while being involved in a complex web of financial crimes, for which the government of India has been pursuing his extradition for almost a decade.

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The businessman is accused of defaulting on loans worth over ₹9,000 crores from over a dozen Indian banks, including the State Bank of India. Mallya was also a Member of Parliament until his expulsion in 2016.

The RCB is one of the three original franchises that is yet to win the IPL title despite making the final on three occasions. The 18th edition of the cricket league, featuring 10 franchises, will run till May 25.

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