RIL won a fiercely contested e-auction, fending off competition from a Silicon Valley tech consortium, comprising the chief executives of Google, Microsoft, and Adobe, as well as private equity giant CVC, the owners of IPL franchise Gujarat Titans, according to the report.

A stake in Birmingham Phoenix was also on the block, with bidding for stakes in the remaining teams set for the coming days, as the opportunity to buy into English cricket attracts a range of international investors.