Before battle, Mallya takes on SRK

April 18: It is not just a war on the cricket field. Even before the game begins Royal Challengers boss Vijay Mallya has taken on his opponent for Friday's (April 18) match, the King of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan.

Its a battle between two legends in their own right. One is a celebrated liquor baron and the other the King of Bollywood. Vijay Mallya and Shahrukh Khan will be pitted against each other when their teams clash in the inaugural match of cricket's summer slam. The man at the helm of the Royal Challengers has set the war of words alight by taking a jibe at Shahrukh's Kolkata Knight Riders.

Watch: Vijay Mallya takes on SRK

Vijay Mallya said, "Shahrukh Khan is a superstar and I am not. But, his stardom will not count on the cricket field. It will all depend on which team plays a better game and I stand by the fact that we are a good team."

Shahrukh may have not responded to his rival's war cry, however, the commander of his force Sourav Ganguly declared that he is ready for any challenge thrown at him by Dr Vijay Mallya's team. Sourav said, "I have given Rahul a pair of boxing gloves. I don't know about Shahrukh and Vijay."

On a day that holds up most importance to the owners as much as it does to the men who will sweat out at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy stadium. The Indian Premier League will witness a war between figures who will try their level best to cut into each other's popularity. The latest jibe of Dr Mallya may just set the proceedings on a roll for a war between team owners, something that has never been witnessed before in the history of the game.

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