SRK's first ever blog on Knight Riders' official website

Shah Rukh Khan is the latest Bollywood superstar to enter the webspace with the launch of his personal blog on the official website of his IPL team - 'Knight Riders'. The following is Shah Rukh's first ever blog that he wrote after 'Knight Riders' were defeated by 'Rajasthan Royals' in their last match on April 23:

The beginning of a new day!

When the season started, I thought I would write every couple of days to all our fans that visit our site.

Firstly, thanks for doing so and a special thanks to all who believe in the Knight Riders and support us as a team. Apologies for not being a regular at my blog or actually not even writing the first entry with the start of the season. So here is the first one.

I thought I would start the first write up by detailing the threshold and culture of this franchise. That would have been apt if we hadn't started playing. Right now, as I write at 5 a.m. in Cape Town, having lost yet another game, which we could have won, the heart is heavy and the mind is numb. Full marks to Rajasthan Royals for proving that a true champion team does not choke at the finish line. Congratulations guys.

Since the commencement of this season, we have a trail of one win out of three, which is not a good position to be in. So at this time I will not get into why the franchise was started and what dreams we all have as far as our ambitions are concerned. All ambitions finally will get fulfilled only when the team wins and keeps true to the faith that all our fans have invested in us. Till such time, I am going to talk a bit about the game as I understand, which needless to say is quite limited. I will also talk about the role that I choose to play as part of the Knight Riders.

I treat this team as I treat my own children. I am quite a doting father and perhaps a bit too emotionally involved with all the things my team goes through. I feel like crying when they lose and go wild with happiness when they win. Throughout the tournament last year, my only concern was that the team members should not in any way feel sad or bad after the losses we suffered. If I could, I would want to take all the disappointments they face with every loss or a bad performance onto myself. As much as I try, I now realise that it is not possible.

This is a set of professional players and they seem to understand one rule that most of us cannot understand. And the rule is that this is a game, and one team will lose while the other will win.

If either the success or the defeat of the last match lingers beyond a day, it would be impossible for them to face a new match and a new challenge the next time round, with full steam and gusto. They gather the broken pieces, try and understand what could be done better and start afresh. Like a father learns from his children, I am beginning to understand this lesson too. Earlier I used to pep talk our team before and after every match, so that their morale would remain positive. As the year has passed into another, I now realise that these boys actually walk the talk; and I need to do the same. I am learning from this whole experience that the more I practice, the easier things seem.

The harder I run, the farther I can go. The more I pray, the less I feel the burden of performance. Also I am learning that after doing all this, there is no guarantee of winning everyday. So all one can do is to give it your best shot and leave the rest.

In attempting to give it our best, our team has taken lots of unpopular decisions. Starting with, the multiple captains to choices of whom we play in which match. A truckload of criticism from all quarters has been dumped at our doorsteps. Every time I go and sit in the stadium, I feel the weight of all the choices made. If we come out winners through this tournament, will I feel vindicated? The answer is no. If we don't perform as well as we should, would I feel we did the wrong thing? Again the answer is no.

The decisions we take in life, need not always lead to a black and white solution as in mathematics. The decisions are guidelines and beliefs we chalk down our path towards a goal. Sometimes we get to the goal inspite of the decisions and sometimes because of them. And there are times when all goes wrong. The strength lies in sticking to a path that you chose to begin with. As the journey progresses, whether that path turns out to be tough or easy, you have to follow it because therein lies your principles and beliefs.

Assessing how a ball should be played after seeing it at 1500 frames per second on your television sets is one thing…but to take that split millisecond decision, when the ball tears down at you, at 150 kilometers per hour, is another ballgame altogether. In retrospect things can be explained and faults and genius can be torn apart or praised, but in the moment that you have to live and deliver, a path has to be chosen and walked on, with complete belief that it will work out fine.

I don't know if the path we have chosen is correct or not…and that's why we won't feel vindicated in victory and neither will we feel ashamed in defeat. It's just a path we the Knight Riders have chosen to walk on and will stick to it, till the very end. I hope all those who believe in this team will walk along with us.

This is getting as long as a Test Match, and I need to end it. I can feel the first rays of the Sun beginning to break through. A new day is about to begin. The defeat still lingers thick in my mind…so I will try and sleep it off and start afresh again. I know my boys will do the same. We will face our disappointments head on with a smile and a prayer. I close my eyes with these thoughts from Theodore Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts;

Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,

Or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,

Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;

Who strives valiantly;

Who errs, who comes short again and again,

Because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;

But who does actually strive to do deeds;

Who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions;

Who spends himself in a worthy cause;

Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,

And who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,

So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who

neither know

Victory nor Defeat.

King Khan blogs his heart out, defends team's decisions

Kolkata Knight Riders owner and Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, who debuted as a blogger on KKR's official website, has justified his team's "unpopular decisions".

The actor talks at length about the disappointment after his team's defeat at the hands of fellow Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty's Rajasthan Royals.

"Right now, as I write at 5 a.m. in Cape Town, having lost yet another game, which we could have won, the heart is heavy and the mind is numb.

"...Since the commencement of this season, we have a trail of one win out of three, which is not a good position to be in," the actor wrote in his first blog entry, which was posted soon after Kolkata Knight Riders lost the match to Rajasthan Royals on April 23.

Shahrukh, also known as 'King Khan', took the opportunity to talk about the multiple captain controversies, which has alienated some of the team's supporters with the actor himself accepting that he was receiving hate mails.

"In attempting to give it our best, our team has taken lots of unpopular decisions. Starting with, the multiple captains to choices of whom we play in which match. A truckload of criticism from all quarters has been dumped at our doorsteps. Every time I go and sit in the stadium, I feel the weight of all the choices made," said Shahrukh.

Shahrukh goes back to India to vote

Kolkata Knight Riders on their own because Indian law prohibits voting outside country

Bollywood star Shah-rukh Khan, who has caused a stir in South Africa while attending the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, will head back home this week to vote in India’s general election.

Khan, the owner of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, will leave South Africa on Wednesday with his wife, Gauri, and children Aryan and Su- hana, to cast his vote on April 30.

IPL: Open letter to Shah Rukh Khan!

Hello Mr. Shah Rukh Khan
I have to say I always respected you as an actor as an individual what, I have seen of you. I also respect you involvement in you team but as am management student I have learnt that management control should be in different hands.

I have been your greatest fan even though I don’t have your hundreds pictures nor I have watched your movies 10 times each. But at the same time dada (Saurav Ganguly)has been a legend 4 me and your behaviour over it has been very petronaid.

Sachin himself said that Dada is the greatest captain ever India ever had(with limited resources),other than that his credentials as an player,he had yet again proved by making an comeback in the Indian national team after all the odds against him at the same time he was highest scorer in IPL-1, what else do you want?

I have heard your statements that its a team decision, but let me tell you that by your so called team decision you have disapointed all your fans, I am not a Kolkatan nor a Bengali. I stay in Mumbai and i am Sikh, I was your die hearted fan but not more.

Even if you win the IPL you have lost the respect, by digrading a legend. You have always been a politacilly right person and that what you all about. I want to ask you that why don’t you revert to Mr. Aamir khan’s statements, but when it comes to Sunil Gavesker you are up there. How can u do that when u know that you have zero knowledge of cricket when it is compared to Mr. Gavaskar.

In all I just have to say you one thing (as u call its going like a test match) respect a legend. give him great send off at Eden Gardens that all I want from you. At the same time, I guess that will make against all your decisions. Don’t mind bad of all what I have said, I still respect you as an actor, but not as an individual.

Thanks & Regards!
Inderdeep
Mumbai.

Inderdeep is a reader of DuniyaLive.com and above written views are his own and not of DuniyaLive.com. Inderdeep has raised some questions regarding SRK’s decision over Saurav Ganguly.