Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is the third-most successful Indian Premier League (IPL) team owner in the history of the T20 league. Shah Rukh along with fellow Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla bought the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise back in 2007 for Rs 570 crore.
KKR won their IPL crown in the 2024 season earlier this year and now only trail Mumbai Indians (six titles) and Chennai Super Kings (five titles) for winning the T20 league most times. But former IPL commissioner and BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi has revealed that Kolkata wasn’t Shah Rukh Khan’s first choice for a team ahead of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction which takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25.
Speaking to Raj Shamani on his podcast, Lalit Modi revealed that Shah Rukh Khan had joined the IPL bandwagon his insistence.
“Bollywood and cricket sell in this country. I have always been a part of the glamor. 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,” Lalit Modi said.
Huge One: “Shah Rukh Khan is the pillar of IPL. He brought big investors to the tournament. Every big face came watching him. And the most important thing, he filled the stadium with women & children, which was extremely important” – Lalit Modi.#ShahRukhKhan pic.twitter.com/bq4IAwEVza
— ℣ (@Vamp_Combatant) November 23, 2024
“Shah Rukh Khan bid for a team, even though he didn’t know anything about cricket,” Lalit Modi added.
During the interview, Lalit Modi revealed that Shah Rukh Khan really wanted to buy Mumbai Indians, but with Mukesh Ambani getting the honours, the ‘Pathaan’ star went ahead with KKR.
“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,” Lalit Modi said.
“In year one, we had to beg or pay celebrities to come. By year 2, 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,” former IPL commissioner added.
KKR won the IPL for the third time earlier this year, under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer and mentorship of Gautam Gambhir. However, the team has not retained their captain ahead of IPL 2025 auction.
KKR retained Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana and Ramandeep Singh. They have an auction purse of Rs 51 crore with no RTMs left.
