Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s long wait for IPL glory finally came to an end after 18 years, sparking wild celebrations among fans across the world. Among those joining in the jubilation were the franchise’s former owner, Vijay Mallya, and his son Sidhartha Mallya. Sidhartha shared his joy with fans on Instagram, posting a video of himself shouting with excitement as RCB sealed the historic win. “18 long, long years. I don’t know what to say,” he captioned the post.
But the mood soon shifted. In a fresh video, Sidhartha revealed that Instagram took down his celebratory post, and temporarily restricted his account.
According to Sidhartha, the suspension was triggered by a copyright infringement complaint, which he later discovered had been filed by IPL authorities. “For some reason, Instagram decided to take the video down and proceeded to ban me from interacting on the app,” he said.
The restriction was lifted a day before he shared his side of the story.
“The video was less than a minute long, and it was about me and my emotions. It’s crazy that they took away my opportunity to celebrate and interact with fans. I am upset about it, and it’s sad on the part of IPL. Such is life,” he added.
Watch the video:
His video quickly went viral, with many rallying behind him in the comments. One user wrote, “You are powerful. When they do this, they are showing their insecurity. Now because of their actions your video will definitely be etched in everyone’s minds.”
Another added, “Irrespective of what the situation is you are also a ‘FAMILY’ of RCB.”
Story continues below this ad
Someone else chimed in, “Whoever did this is just vengeful! You’re an incredibly positive and inspiring person! Don’t let it get you down!! Just shows the calibre of people around! You keep being you and shining! You’re so loved!”
Another simply wrote, “Absolute bullocks—we loved you—your emotion—and it all started with you.”
Vijay Mallya’s reaction to RCB’s win
Meanwhile, Vijay Mallya also marked the moment on X. “When I founded RCB, it was my dream that the IPL trophy should come to Bengaluru… I had the privilege of picking the legendary King Kohli as a youngster… Finally, the IPL trophy arrives in Bengaluru.”
When I founded RCB it was my dream that the IPL trophy should come to Bengaluru. I had the privilege of picking the legendary King Kohli as a youngster and it is remarkable that he has stayed with RCB for 18 years. I also had the honour of picking Chris Gayle the Universe Boss…
— Vijay Mallya (@TheVijayMallya) June 3, 2025
While many RCB supporters applauded his message, others weren’t as forgiving, who brought up his ongoing legal troubles, and demanded his return to India. The criticism even led some to turn to Grok, Elon Musk’s AI, to fact-check Mallya’s claims.
Story continues below this ad
Grok confirmed that while Mallya’s numbers regarding loan recovery matched the finance minister’s statement, charges of fraud and money laundering by the CBI and ED are still active, with his extradition case still pending.
Mallya wasn’t having it. He fired back, posting, “@grok is wrong,” arguing that the extradition efforts began before the recovery of the funds, making them irrelevant now.
The celebrations might’ve been sweet, but controversy, as usual, wasn’t far behind.
