Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan has assured that the proposed acquisition of India Cements (ICL) by UltraTech Cement will not affect the CSK IPL franchise.

The Chennai Super Kings, one of the most successful teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will remain owned by N Srinivasan and his family.

Questions were raised about the acquisition's influence on India Cements, the original proprietors of the CSK business. Also, India Cements, the original owner of the CSK franchise, will transfer ownership to the Aditya Birla Group following the proposed sale of 33.72% of its stake.

However, it has been reported that CSK is now an independent corporation, separate from India Cements, and is held by around 1,00,000 stockholders in the Chennai-based firm.

“Chennai Super Kings and India Cements are different entities. India Cements no longer controls the CSK team. The team is run by a company called Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL),” Kasi Viswanathan, CEO of CSKCL told Cricbuzz.

Viswanathan, a longtime acquaintance of Srinivasan, also stated that the N Srinivasan family, which includes Srinivasan, his wife Chitra Srinivasan, and daughter Rupa Gurunath, owns a controlling position in the business. However, R Srinivasan, not N Srinivasan, serves as the chairman of CSKCL.

Chennai Super Kings were separated from India Cements circa 2015, with IPL team shares divided among India Cements' shareholders at the time. The N Srinivasan family kept the majority and controlling interest.

On Sunday, UltraTech announced its acquisition of India Cements shares for Rs 3,954 crore, following an earlier purchase of 22.77% of shares for Rs 1,889 crore in June.