"If Shoaib is out, I’ll bowl," says Shah Rukh

A belligerent Shah Rukh Khan may not have been serious when he said he was willing to get on to the field and bowl instead of banned pacebowler Shoaib Akhtar.

But his statement to the press outside his Bandra bungalow, Mannat, is an indication of the frustration the Kolkata Indian Premier League owner faced after his star player was banned from IPL matches yesterday.

“I have only one other option, I will bowl myself!” said Khan.

‘Shoaib is a pillar of strength’

On a more serious note, the actor said he planned to meet IPL chairman Lalit Modi and other cricketing officials today to reconsider the IPL ban on Akhtar.

“We planned the team keeping him in mind. He is the team’s pillar of strength. We will take the matter to the officials and hopefully it will work out in our favour,” said Khan.

Khan’s comments could come as a relief to Akhtar, considering it’s the only vote of confidence he has received after the PCB banned him for five years two days ago.

In the aftermath, Pakistan’s former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq went on record to say the ban was correct. Yesterday, Kapil Dev’s ICL said they wouldn’t consider him unless the ban is lifted as they did not want to ‘spoil their relationship with anyone’.

Yet, SRK’s support for Shoaib is not surprising. One, he paid Rs 1.69 crore for getting the bowler into the Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team he owns.

And two, he has always been vociferous about his support for Shoaib. Speaking to this paper, when he was a guest editor on November 2, SRK had said Shoaib was misunderstood.

Support for the bowler has also been pouring in from Nawaz Sharif and PM Yousaf Gilani.

Alisha Coelho, Mid-Day