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KKR wasn't Shah Rukh Khan's archetypal choice. (Image: SRKUniverse/X)
With conscionable months remaining earlier the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) play begins, the league’s founder, Lalit Modi, sat down for a uncommon interview, sharing insights astir the inception of what has go the world’s largest cricket tournament. Modi delved into Shah Rukh Khan’s engagement successful the league and the actor’s travel toward owning the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). While KKR has since go a fan-favourite team, Modi revealed that it wasn’t Shah Rukh’s initial choice. The Bollywood superstar initially tried to unafraid franchises successful cities similar Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad but yet ended up with Kolkata.
Speaking to Raj Shamani connected his podcast, Modi explained, “Every idiosyncratic could bid for each teams. Shah Rukh Khan’s main attraction was to bid for Ahmedabad oregon Mumbai. At that time, helium didn’t get it, helium enactment a debased number. He got Calcutta. His archetypal prime was Mumbai but Mukesh Ambani took Mumbai. Bangalore was SRK’s 2nd prime but Vijay Mallya took it. His 3rd prime was Delhi, but that excessively went to idiosyncratic else. His bid was overmuch lower. His was thing 70-80 million, and each of these cities were 100 million. Calcutta was 85 -87 cardinal and that’s what helium got.”
During the aforesaid interaction, Lalit Modi admitted that Shah Rukh Khan was captious for IPL arsenic his beingness filled stadium with women and children. He shared, “For me, Shah Rukh was going to bring successful women and children into the game. Women and children were highly important for IPL to click successful presumption of viewership.” He added, “I said to myself to get radical successful the stadium, I request Shah Rukh Khan. In twelvemonth one, we had to wage celebrities to travel and attend. In twelvemonth two, they came connected their own. In twelvemonth three, they wanted america to invitation them to the crippled due to the fact that everybody wanted to go a portion of the game. In twelvemonth 1, aft they saw Shah Rukh Khan, idiosyncratic took Deepika arsenic their marque ambassador, idiosyncratic took idiosyncratic other arsenic the marque ambassador, idiosyncratic took Akshay Kumar. Film stars brought a batch to the game.”
Established successful 2008, the Kolkata Knight Riders proceed to thrive nether the associated ownership of Shah Rukh Khan, histrion Juhi Chawla, and her hubby Jay Mehta. In 2022, Shah Rukh and Juhi’s children—Aryan Khan, Suhana Khan, and Jahnavi Mehta—actively participated successful the IPL auction, marking their archetypal beingness astatine the auction without their parents.
Click for much updates and latest Bollywood news on with Entertainment updates. Also get latest news and apical headlines from India and astir the world astatine The Indian Express.
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