SRK defends his Knight Riders!

Passion could well be Shah Rukh Khan’s middle name.

Be it his films or his IPL franchisee Knight Riders, SRK puts his mouth where his heart is. Like in this interview to BT hours after the Knight Riders scored their first points in IPL-II on Tuesday, after winning against Kings XI Punjab courtesy the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The turning point in that match, feels SRK, was that the entire team got into the act. “Dada getting quick wickets, Ishant Sharma doing his bit, and then Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum coming out and batting like that, it was heartening to see the team supporting one another,” says SRK. But even as he states that the Knight Riders were “deserving winners”, he admits that the Knights are also “spirited losers”. “We were cold at the start of the tournament,” SRK says it as it is, when asked about the team’s dismal first performance against Team Hyderabad, “but the first few matches are all about team building and team strengthening, and we’re getting there.”

Over to the team. Is there additional pressure on the Knights to perform, considering the team has been mired in controversies from the start? “What everyone says need not always be true. We have a thought process behind our decisions, be it the multi-captain theory or the change of captain. We aren’t bothered by controversy, in fact, it brings us closer, binds us more, when the world puts us down, we find confidence and support in each other. We stick to what we believe in, we Knights are married to each other,” says the ever-positive Khan.

The Knights will play against last year’s champs Team Rajasthan today, tough match? “Each match is tough, because the pitches are unknown to us. But we’ll give Shane Warne and his team an entertaining fight!” promises SRK.
But the Bollywood star has a peculiar dilemma — he was born in Delhi, works in Mumbai and owns a Kolkata franchisee — how does he balance his loyalties?

“Kolkata is my playground, Mumbai, my home. It just shows I’m a true Indian, a walking, talking epitome of being a true Indian!” he laughs. But despite being the owner of the team, SRK knows when to step back and let others do the talking.

“When it comes to cricket, I am also an outsider. I let those who know the game make the decisions. I don’t know if a decision is good or bad, but I will support it nonetheless. I treat my team like I treat my children, and fans should support us in good times and bad. It should be from the heart...”

No wonder, then, that King Khan is their Knight in shining armour!

Insider leaks KKR information on blog

Shah Rukh Khan is not going to be a happy person for too long; especially since an anonymous blogger seems to be telling the world what’s happening in the green room.

The blogger is penning down details of team strategy, happenings at the team meeting and gossip in the dressing rooms and other private circles.

The blog’s authenticity hasn’t been proven yet. The writer writes using either code names for the players (Lord Almighty for Saurav Ganguly, Sheikh of the Tweak for Shane Warne).

The management has condemned the poison pen writer and hopes to bring a stop to his posts soon.

I cry when KKR loses: SRK

Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Rider co-owner Shah Rukh Khan says his involvement with the Knight Riders team is intense and that he cries on nights when they lose.

"I feel disturbed when things go wrong, I cry when my films go wrong, and even here at the IPL I cry very, very often," King Khan said.

He said his fans in Kolkata should realise that "compared to movies, more things can go wrong in cricket." He asked for their patience, saying that "my dream is to come to Kolkata on a barge and bring the cup with me."

For that to happen, he said, the team needed "ten crore positive sentiments from all the Bongs and Bengalis out there."

He said he would even give new steps for his team's 'Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo' war cry. But "along the way if we go wrong, please pray for us," he said.

SRK said that he received "strange hate mail for decisions that he took for the team," and that he would like at some point to "go to each house and explain" what he was doing. He said "it's not unfair for fans to expect that, as professionals, we do well all the time," but they must also understand that there would be win and loss in a sport, "much more than in a movie."

Of the emotional nature of Kolkata's people he said: "Kolkatans are lovers one night and angry men on others."

Having dropped Sourav as his captain, SRK batted for him by saying that "Dada was always hot."

"Instead of bad-ass, I'm going to rename him Dad-ass" he quipped.

"I want everyone who has derided him to know that he's the greatest player in the country and the greatest player in the team," said SRK. He praised his other star batsman Chris
Gayle, saying that he had a deal with him to lose as many balls as he could outside the park.

Talking of the Bollywood babes in the IPL, Preity and now also Shilpa, SRK said that he loved women and would not fight them. "My son does that because he's young enough to do that," he said. "but if they were guys I would set them right. I don't fight with girls."

He pointed out that both Shilpa and Preity had debuted in Bollywood opposite him.

Exclusive: Shah Rukh Khan on his Knights

Kolkata Knight Riders have registered their first win in IPL season 2 and team owner Shah Rukh Khan now wants to put all the controversies behind and concentrate on cricket. He spoke to Vimal Kumar after the victory celebrations.

SRK: It's going to be difficult at times. People are not going to understand from outside. All I can tell you is: "You can love us, you can hate us, but you can't ignore us. We will try our best as humbly as possible. We will try and entertain everyone. We are open to be talking about the team the way we wish to. We love you and we are going to try our best. Whichever the part of the country you are in, make sure you are proud of Kolkata Knight Riders."

Q: IPL is shifted to South Africa. Rain is playing spoilsport. Your take on that

SRK: Weather is not something that even I can control or, you can control. It's unfortunate. But apparently, it is not seasonal rain here, either. So things happen like this. When the moment is big, the occasion is really important, small things can spoil it. But the idea was the IPL2 should be held. So forget the rain. Whenever it rains we just sing a good rain song. But beyond that, yes it's unfortunate. I feel sad that some of the matches are getting curtailed because of rain.

Q: You must be feeling happy that your team has started winning.

SRK: I don't think we have started winning. We have twelve more matches to go. I can't be happy so soon. But I am very happy that the team has started playing together. And inshe allah... as we go along the next twelve matches we will play together. As long as we play together, winning or losing is not important. I think if we are able to bring the spirit of the Kolkata Knight Riders into this, that is more important. So I am happy for the kids. I think they were very depressed after losing the first match. I am happy that they are happy now. But a long way to go.

SRK's KKR '09 Sprite Ad Shoot

King Khan’s children get special IPL chutti

As we put on our TV sets to watch the Indian Premiere League season 2’s matches of Shah Rukh Khan owned Kolkata Knight Riders we can also see Khan’s two kids Aryan (11) and Suhana (8) cheering for their team in South Africa. But it is learnt that they have been given special exemption to attend these matches and bunk the special classes of their school - Dhirubhai Ambani School.

Our source reveals, "Last IPL, the King Khan’s children, especially son Aryan was a regular feature in most of the KKR matches. But since the matches were held in India it was easily possible for their superstar dad to take them to the match venues. This year as the venue has shifted to South Africa, it seemed difficult that SRK would manage to take them along. Also since their school was holding special classes delaying their summer vacation. But Shah Rukh apparently applied for a special permission and the school gave his kids five days of holiday as a special case.”

In Pics: Shahrukh Khan in Durban