Bollywood actor and Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan.
Credit: PTI Photo
Cricket fever has gripped the nation with the mega auction for the 2025 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), currently underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The squads of all 10 franchises for IPL 2025 will be decided in a day, with the mega auction's ending celebrations scheduled on November 25.
With IPL taking centrestage, Lalit Modi — credited as being one of the creators of IPL — is grabbing the headlines after he claimed that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was, at first, eager to buy stakes of Mumbai Indians (MI), and not that of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - the franchise he co-owns at the moment, along with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta.
Modi also referred to Shah Rukh Khan as being the "pillar" of IPL.
In a recent appearance on podacster Raj Shamani's show, Lalit Modi said, "His first choice was Mumbai, but Mukesh Ambani took that. Kolkata was his eventual pick. But Shah Rukh’s real contribution was in making cricket entertaining. He brought women and children into the stadiums, which was critical for IPL’s success. That’s why we had music, cheerleaders, and a festival-like atmosphere — he turned it into an event for everyone," according to a report by the Hindustan Times.
"Shah Rukh Khan bid for a team, even though he didn’t know anything about cricket," he went on.
"Bollywood and cricket sell in this country. I have always been a part of the glamour. Shah Rukh Khan went to school with me; we are school friends. When I approached him for cricket, I didn’t know much about it myself, but I told him, ‘I just want you to be a part of it.’ He was the number one pillar for the IPL," Modi further added.
Lalit Modi also credited Shah Rukh Khan for turning the IPL into something 'more than just cricket' and a 'cultural movement'. "In year one, we had to beg or pay celebrities to come. By year two, they came on their own. After seeing Shah Rukh, everyone wanted in - Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, you name it. Shah Rukh’s presence turned the IPL into more than just cricket; it became a cultural movement," he said.