Nobody has the passion to buy a stake in KKR: SRK

Nobody has the passion and heart to buy a stake in Kolkata Knight Riders,” declares Shah Rukh Khan, defying the claim made by mystery blogger Fake IPL Player that the star had found investors for the team. To HT City’s request to comment on Fake IPL Player, SRK simply replies, “I don’t do fake.”

When he returned from South Africa almost two weeks ago, Shah Rukh had sounded dejected over KKR’s performance. But his passion for his team and the game seems to have become even stronger. “You don’t need just money to run KKR — we have our wonderful sponsors for that — what you need is love, and in that department I am the king,” he states.

Rumours that he wants to wash his hands of cricket are just that, he contends. “The pressure to perform is greater now, but when you see Deccan and Bangalore turn it around in a year… I’m sure so can we.” UK-based brand valuation firm Intangible Business, in collaboration with MTI Consulting, has declared KKR the richest IPL team valued at $22 million.

“The valuation makes me smile a bit, [but] it will make me happy when our team provides value to our supporters on the field and makes them proud to be with KKR,” says Shah Rukh. He has a special promise for kids: “I want to promise them again this year… that the KKR shirts will be smaller for them in 2010, but they will never feel small wearing them as supporters.”

As for the performance, he takes the entire responsibility upon himself. “We don’t hate failure enough,” says the man who has seldom failed as a star. “The blame should completely rest on my shoulders. It’s my duty to overcome this year’s performance… how, when, who… too many details for an interview... I don’t like being a loser and I’ll pragmatically and passionately turn this around. Inshallah.”

As of now, it’s back to being Rizwan Khan in Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan, and SRK calls it one of his most intricate roles so far. “It is an exercise in bringing technique and emotions together.”

The curtain to come down sans SRK

The finals for the IPL season 2009 happened at Wanderers’ stadium in Johannesburg. Like last time this time too there was festivities and artists from across the globe perform. But this time Indians has missed the presence of King Khan who did attending the function.

The reason for King Khan’s absence has been pointed on him not having free dates to attend the event. But there are also a few people who are suggesting that SRK’s absence would be because for the below-the-average performance of his team Kolkata Knight Riders.

Though sources close to King Khan reveal that his absence is related to his shoulder injury, there are a lot of comparisons being made when the Khan performed in a wedding recently, during the end of April. Yet a few other sources close to SRK reveal that he is busy completing his film and hence not having time for events.

Whatever be the reason the fans of Shah Rukh Khan will miss him terribly this year, with just a few celebrities of Bollywood making their appearances felt.

Yesterday witnessed the semifinals of Deccan Chargers and Delhi Dare Devils, with Deccan Chargers winning the match. Today sees the match between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers. So which ever team wins today’s match will clash with Deccan Chargers tomorrow.

SRK won't shake a leg at IPL 2 finale

While Shah Rukh Khan insists it's because of his shoulder injury, the pathetic performance of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is possibly the main reason

There's bad news for Shah Rukh Khan fans across the globe.

They'll miss King Khan in action, as he won't be performing at the grand finale of the IPL season 2, which will be held at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg tomorrow.

The finale will have a grand show put up by Cineyug's Morani Brothers and Development Network Africa.

Says a source from South Africa, "The Morani Brothers are very close to Shah Rukh and are scripting and directing the event.

It's strange that Shah Rukh, who performs in almost every show of the Morani's, won't be performing this time. In fact he's not even going t o south Africa for the finals."

Commenting on SRK not performing at the finals, Mohammed Morani, says, "Shah Rukh has been a part of most of our shows and it's sad not to have him this time. Actually, he's busy shooting and didn't have dates for the event."

Besides, a source adds that people had expected SRK to come for the IPL finals and cheer his team but apparently he's keeping a low profile, as KKR failed miserably in the tournament.

"Hence, Shah Rukh just wants to keep away from all the controversies and concentrate on his work," he says.

Speaking to MiD DAY, Shah Rukh said, "I won't be able to perform at the IPL finals this time as my shoulder is till healing."

A source close to Shah Rukh, dismissing the gossip, says, "Shah Rukh is busy completing his shooting commitments and hence, he's unable to attend the event.

Also, he's not keeping a low profile – it's just that there are no parties or social events for him to attend right now."

But a source from South Africa perseveres, "Shah Rukh performed at builder Kanti Govani's nephew's wedding, which was held on April 30. If he could perform then, why not now?" he questions.

Apart from Katrina Kaif and Shilpa Shetty, the IPL finals won't have any big tinsel town stars performing this year.

However, Morani says, "As IPL is a global event, it will witness performances by Eddy Grant, percussionist Sivamani with 100 drummers, Akon, Miss Bollywood (South Africa) and quite a few internationals acts."

SRK gets IPL gyan

Shah Rukh Khan’s Knight Riders may have failed to create magic, yet again, but King Khan takes it all in his stride.

In fact, he cites his team’s ouster from IPL 2 as a life lesson. He has no plans of giving gyaan like a guru; nevertheless, he did a good job when he pep-talked the audience at the Delhi chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organisation here on Thursday.

Talking about the event, a source present at the function says, “YPO has members in almost 85 countries. Every year, they invite people from different walks of life to interact with the members. This year, it was Shah Rukh, since he’s been very successful in his life and the members were all ears when he spoke on what success meant to him.”

Talking on his favourite subject – success – SRK says, “Success is never final, just like failure is never fatal. Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. Fear failure so much that you get the courage to succeed. Talking about how I became successful is a waste. Success comes by chance. My first few films failed. My IPL team failed in the first and second seasons. But I’m not giving up – I want to win next year.”

When we spoke to SRK after the event, he sounded happy about the improvement in his health. “I’m much better,” he said, adding, “I’ll soon leave for the USA to shoot for My Name Is Khan. It’s a month-and-a-half long schedule.”

A source close to SRK reveals, “He felt dejected when his team wasn’t playing well initially. However, he’s reconciled to it now but is not going to South Africa for the finals. In fact, he returned after leaving Gauri’s brother there to take care of the team.” Well, the Badshah knows best!

I don't have as much money as Shah Rukh: Amitabh

Bollywood megastar Amitbah Bachchan says he couldn't bid for an Indian Premier League (IPL) team because he doesn't have 'as much money as (Kolkata Knight Riders owner) Shah Rukh Khan'.

'I don't have as much money as Shah Rukh. He has money and so he owns a team,' Amitabh said on Zee News' celebrity chat show 'Kahiye Janab' to be aired on Saturday.

Shah Rukh Khan's KKR strongest IPL brand; worth Rs 104 crores

Despite their poor cricket performance, the Kolkata Knight Riders have emerged as the strongest IPL brand. UK based brand valuation company Intangible Business, in collaboration with MTI Consulting, have just released the IPL Brand Value Scoreboard 2009 - a valuation aimed at measuring the strengths of the right IPL Franchises

Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), with a brand value of $22 million (approximately Rs 104 crores) tops the Brand Value Table, closely followed by Delhi Daredevils, which is valued at $19 million, Chennai Super Kings at $18 million and Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai Indians at $17 million. Last year's winners Rajasthan Royals are at the bottom of the table with a value of $10 million.

Intangible Business international director Richard Yoxon says, "Winning games is not enough to build a successful sports brand. Teams need to engage the local community, attract star players who inspire a wide audience and develop a strong marketing communications programme."

Further explaining the rationale and methodology, MTI Consulting CEO Hilmy Cader says, "Brand values are a reflection of a brand's ability to generate future income. It is a forward looking study that uses historic performance and future trends to predict future activity. 2008 publicly available sales data was gathered for each franchise. To determine the strength of the brands, each brand was scored on a series attributes that underpin the power and reach of the each brand. These attributes are a mixture of hard measures and soft measures of brand strength sourced from publically available information and from a qualitative panel of cricket fans from each test playing nation. Using this data, each brand was then valued using the relief-from-royalty methodology."

Significant sums have been invested in acquiring the team franchises and the race is on to capture the hearts and minds of cricket fans to develop a strong club culture modelled on the success of the world's most popular sports brands. While the playing squads will change and the success of each team will fluctuate over time, the brand is the constant that unites supporters and is ultimately responsible for driving the long-term commercial sustainability and success of the IPL franchises.

SRK waiting for feedback on team KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders team owner Shah Rukh Khan may be hundreds of miles away from his IPL team, who are currently playing in South Africa, but the Bollywood star wants constant feedback on how things are moving in the Knight Riders camp.

To serve this purpose, King Khan has asked co-owner Jay Mehta to keep a close watch on the boys and provide him a first-hand account on the latest developments.

The Kolkata team will play their final match of the IPL’s second season against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday but will end up at the bottom of the points table, irrespective of the result.

“As Shah Rukh didn’t go back to South Africa, Mehta is acting as his eyes and ears. It’s understood that Shah Rukh will be briefed on all matters once the edition ends,” sources told a newspaper.

According to reports, Mehta has already started working on his assignment and had conversations with the skipper Brendon McCullum as well as some other players.

Mehta is also expected to meet the support staff including John Buchanan and director Joy Bhattacharya, a meeting which is expected to decide the fate of several members of the team.

South African hottie wants to learn cooking from Shahrukh

One of the top three contenders to win the Miss Bollywood IPL crown at the ongoing tournament in South Africa, sexy model Gabriella Demetriades wants superstar Shahrukh Khan to teach her cooking.

Not that the King Khan is known for his culinary skills, but the 22-year-old South African model desires to learn to cook a special dish from the Bollywood star.

“I want him (Shahrukh) to teach me how to make a really great lamb korma,” Gabriella is quoted as saying.

With nearly 14,000 votes in her name, Gabriella is sitting pretty on the third spot among 16 Miss Bollywood IPL finalists from different teams at the T20 tournament. Interestingly, she doesn’t represent SRK’s team Kolkata Knight Riders, but the Hyderabad team, Deccan Chargers.

Gabriella has traveled to India before and claims to be “fascinated” with the country.

“I'm fascinated with the country; there are extremes in terms of wealth and poverty, but the country is diverse, and has great shopping,” she said.

The top spot among Miss Bollywood IPL finalists is taken by the 35-year-old Dune Kossatz who is a model and actress from East London. She’s got 15,888 votes. 24-year-old Genna Cloud, a business marketing graduate from Johannesburg, is on second place with 14,352 votes.

The winner of the Miss Bollywood IPL contest, to be declared at the tournament’s finale, will get a package of prizes including a tour to Bollywood and also a role in Hindi movie.

Kolkata Knight Riders end losing streak; beat Chennai Super Kings by 7 Wickets

In an exciting IPL encounter at SuperSport Park, Centurion, Kolkata Knight Riders ended their 9-match winning streak to beat Chennai Super Kings by 7 wickets. Skipper Brendon McCullum and Brad Hodge played explosive innings to see their team through. The Kolkata Knight Riders successfully chased an improbable target of 189 to register a win off the last ball.

Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat first. They piled up 188/3 in 20 overs. Suresh Raina was the top scorer with 52 off 37 balls. He hit 3 boundaries and 3 sixes. George Bailey and Parthiv Patel contributed 30 and 25 respectively. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 40, while Albie Morkel remained not out on 21.

Chasing a victory target of 189, Kolkata Knight Riders lost Ganguly early, but McCullum continued with his explosive batting and made 81 off 48 balls. He hit 12 boundaries and 3 sixes.

Brad Hodge continued from where McCullum left and powered his team to a much-needed victory. Hodge remained unbeaten on 71 off 44 balls (4 boundaries and 4 sixes), as Kolkata Knight Riders reached 189/3 in 20 overs. Wriddhiman Saha remained unbeaten on 25. Brad Hodge won the "DLF Maximum Sixes Award". He was also declared as the "Man of the Match".

Knights gift SRK surprise holiday

If the Kolkata Knight Riders had played the way they had expected to, Shah Rukh Khan would have been here today in the “City of Gold” to be with his men in black and gold.

SRK had planned to return for the Knights’ last three matches and stay on till the May 24 final at the Wanderers. But thanks to the way the team has performed, he is not coming.

“Shah Rukh was always supposed to leave at the end of April regardless of how we played in the first four matches,” team director Joy Bhattacharjya said. “He had promised to rejoin the team from mid-May, only if they did well. Juhi Chawla was to come with him.”

As were many of the celebrity supporters who were at Eden Gardens last year — among them director Farhan Akhtar and musician Vishal Dadlani. “The turn of events is really disappointing,” Vishal said. “But I’m sure SRK and KKR will bounce back big time. I have absolute faith in his ability to inspire.”

Well, Shah Rukh is in no mood now to come over and inspire the team. And that has thrown the superstar’s calendar in disarray, something he said only his two kids could do.

Then again, he calls the Knights his kids, too.

He can’t even shoot because director-friend Karan Johar hadn’t scheduled filming for My Name is Khan in May because SRK was positive the Knights would make it to the semis and he would be here.

Shah Rukh is trying to make the most of the two free weeks he suddenly has. According to a source close to the actor, he has been religiously undergoing physiotherapy sessions to improve his operated-on left shoulder.

“He is also slated to shoot for a couple of days for Vivek Vaswani’s Dulha Mil Gaya,” the source said. SRK had injured his shoulder shooting for the film.

However, “the boss” hasn’t completely disowned his boys. The famous text messages are still coming, to select members of the Knight Riders.

IPL's Miss Bollywood won't star with SRK!

There will be no Bollywood movie role with Shah Rukh Khan or in fact in any Bollywood movie for the winner of the Miss Bollywood IPL 2009 contest being run by the Indian Premier League (IPL). But she will get a chance to visit India.

Commentators interviewing winners at each game had been asking finalists how they would feel about a role with Shah Rukh and as late as Monday, press releases issued on behalf of the IPL were still saying that 'the winner would receive a role in a Bollywood movie, 50,000 rands in cash, a business class trip to India and other prizes'.

But IPL spokesperson Trevor Jones, who initially denied that this had ever been said, confirmed to IANS that there had been some confusion around the Bollywood movie role: "The launch press release said the winner 'stands to win a role in a Bollywood movie', although subsequent releases should have been clearer on this."

"The initial release did not say the person would win such a role because such a thing could never be guaranteed in advance; neither did the announcement refer to starring with Shah Rukh Khan.

"We're sorry if there's been any confusion on this. We still believe the overall prize is a worthy one for the ultimate winner."

At each IPL game, a finalist is selected from the crowd, as a measure to create a further element of fun and excitement at the matches.

Asked about the criteria used in selection of the finalists, Jones said: "In keeping with the emphasis on fun and excitement, these criteria are different from the rigid score sheet format of a typical beauty pageant."

Jones also said that Bollywood stars Shah Rukh and Preity Zinta provided their input and some ideas before the launch, but have had no direct involvement since they spend most of their time travelling with their respective teams while in South Africa.

Jones dispelled any concern about potential unfairnesses in the selection process by saying that anonymous 'spotters' made choices, after which the project leader of the programme made the final choice.

"Cameramen do not have the final choice, they can make suggestions, which may or may not be useful. There are adequate measures built into the process to prevent abuse. Disclosing the nature of these measures would defeat their object," Jones added.

"If there were to be any structural weakness in the initiative, it would have come from people such as model agents trying to identify our Miss Bollywood spotters and influence them. We believe we have avoided this potential problem."

On the question of why finalists selected had been almost exclusively Indian or white women so far, and whether this was because there were very few Black women attending IPL games, Jones said: "There is no quota system in operation.

"We believe it is neither desirable nor practical to try to operate a quota system at individual matches or in terms of the overall Miss Bollywood IPL SA initiative."

After the last entrants are decided, a web-based voting process will open on the iplt20.com web site for about 48 hours to reduce the total entrants from 48 to a short list of finalists. Details will be announced in a general release closer to the time.

"The finalists will be brought to Johannesburg at IPL cost," Jones concluded.

"The format of the final event will be made known closer to the time in a general media announcement. At this stage, the intention is to crown Miss Bollywood IPL SA before the final, and then have the winner and all finalists also present at that match."

SRK finds solace in Roosevelt!

KKR seems a lost battle for owner Shah Rukh Khan. Not only is his team out of semi-finals in the IPL but is also making headlines for its off-the-field drama.

Cricketer Ajay Jadeja’s recent shocking revelations about a racial drift existing in the team has opened doors for further criticism and need for investigation in the team.

In times of crisis owner Shah Rukh too has stopped attending KKR’s matches. He has let coach John Buchanan do all the talking for KKR’s unending string of defeats at the IPL 2009 instead. However the superstar owner of the team has not stopped writing to his team. In his latest blog he has quoted none other than late American President Franklin 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.

KORBO LORBO JEETBO”

...Wrote SRK describing his feelings after his team’s dismal performance this year. We wonder if these words will help his team rise from the ashes like a phoenix!

Knight Riders richest team in IPL

Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders may be struggling at the bottom in the second season of Indian Premier League, but in terms of brand value it is the richest team of the twenty-twenty cricket tournament, whose collective valuation has been now pegged at USD two billion.The valuation exercise of the entire IPL franchise, along with the individual teams, have been conducted by UK-based international brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance Plc.

“The entire enterprise is valued at USD 2.01 billion,” Brand Finance said, adding, its methodology took into account various revenue lines such as broadcasting, IPL sponsorship, team sponsorship, merchandising and gate receipts as well as the effect of performance, the catchment population of the city, the capacity of the stadium and the presence of iconic players.

Among the eight teams, KKR has been ranked as the most valued with a brand value of USD 42.1 million

Zapak ties up with Shah Rukh Khan's KKR

After launching the Kolkata Knight Rider’s online game last year, Zapak tied up with KKR to promote the team in the internet gaming space for the second time.

Zapak.com, as the official online gaming partner for Kolkata Knight Riders will provide 13 cricket games that will be hosted on the official website of the Knight Riders www.kkr.in.

This year Zapak will provide not only online games but also an exclusive mobile game, which is already available through all telecom operators.

The mobile game, developed and distributed globally by Jump Games, is called Kolkata Knight Riders. It offers among other features, eight of the world’s most skilled teams to choose from, precise batting controls, preset field placements, scorecards & statistics, camera panning actions and slick animations that add depth to the game play.

KKR's losing spree: SRK to concentrate on 'My Name is Khan'!!

Post the dismal show of his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan has left for Mumbai to complete the Mumbai schedule of Karan Johar's 'My Name Is Khan'.

The next schedule of 'My Name Is Khan' will commence from May 30 in Los Angeles, USA. Shah Rukh Khan is expected to join the crew in the first week of June.

'My Name is Khan' stars Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Soniya Jehan, Jimmy Shergill, Zarina Wahab, Parvin Dabbas and Arif Zakaria.

Knight Riders Reloaded Music Video - Download

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SRK’s Scorecard

Player Name: Shah Rukh Khan
Country: India
Date of Birth: November 2, 1965
Batting Style: Off the hip
Bowling Style: Straight for the jugular

Key
100s: Hits at the box office
50s: A decent run at the box office
Ducks: Flops
Extras: Guest appearances and voice-overs
Average: Masala! verdict

TV
Innings: 6 series
100's: Fauji, Circus and KBC 2
50's: Idiot and In which Annie Gives It To Those Ones
Ducks: Paanchvi Paas
Extras: NA
Highest scores: Fauji and KBC 2
Average: Not bad

Films
Innings: Going strong
100's: Main Hoon Na, Devdas and Kabhie Khushi
50's: Swades, Mohabbatein and Dil Se
Ducks: Billu, Paheli and Asoka
Extras: Shakti, Kaal and Saathiya
Highest Score: Dilwale, Om Shanti Om and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Average: The Badshah

IPL-KKR
Innings: 2 Seasons
100's: Signing on Sourav, Brendan Chris, Ishant, Mendis and Co.
50's: Signing on Murali Kartik, David Hussey
Ducks: Hiring John Buchanan
Extras: NA
Highest scores: You are kidding!
Average: Disaster!

SRK’s sixer
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’s unparalleled loooong run at the box office in India.

SRK’s hattrick
To begin with, his waxy likeness smiles down at visitors at Madame Tussauds, London. Then he was awarded the Datuk honorific by the Malaysian government. And finally, he wowed the Hollywood brigade when he presented Slumdog Millionaire at the Golden Globes this year.

SRK stumped!
The King Khan has been left red-faced by the secretive blogger – FakeIPLblogplayer – who has been laying all the Kolkata Knight Riders’ inner shenanigans out in the open. He has also been blind sided by the fact that despite backing his coach on crazy multiple captaincy theories and blowing up big money on cool videos, his team is still not winning!! Wonder why?

SRK bowled
He was clean bowled when until-then-good-friend Salman Khan invited him to a party and then went on to insult him.

SRK LBW-ed
SRK definitely did not see that coming! He never expected his fre-nemy Aamir Khan to take a dig at him as Aamir stopped just short of calling SRK a dog in his blog.

Arjun to pool in for KKR

Their friendship in no secret, and Arjun Rampal would have it no other way. Even though SRK’s IPL team aren’t the best performers, Arjun’s loyalty to his friend and the team won’t shift.

When asked if he would ever have his own cricket team, he says that if one day King Khan decides to sell a stake of the team, he will make sure to buy it.

While you and I might raise our eyebrows in question, Rampal insists he likes the team.

SRK’s top 5 moments with KKR

Shah Rukh Khan lives his life on his own terms: be it his films or his other projects. And for a while, it seemed like King Khan could do no wrong. However, his purchase of the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008 proved that even great men sometimes make wrong decisions. The Knight Riders were bought by Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with Juhi Chawla and her husband, Jai Mehta. We pick out the top five moments that Shah Rukh has endured with his team.

1. Last year at the IPL, Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly disagreed over issues such as team composition, Sourav’s choice of batting first in the game against Chennai Super Kings and the entertainment tax being imposed for the matches played at Eden Gardens (Shah Rukh reportedly wanted Sourav to speak to the West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, about it, but was refused by Sourav).

2. Initially, SRK was very keen to hang out with his team in the dressing room, discussing their strategies for each match. But later, the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit officials stopped Shah Rukh going into the team’s dressing room and the dugout during the IPL match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings.

Shah Rukh had then said, “I like to hang around with the boys. I am very energetic. I am very disappointed that the ICC has stopped me. I don't know the ICC rules, but nobody dare stop me from coming to Kolkata. I'll be there whenever my team plays a match at the Eden.”

3. Then, in 2008, SRK gave an indication that a major decision regarding the team would be taken by Coach John Buchanan. And this year, Buchanan decided on the multiple captaincies, which many in Kolkata saw as another ploy to strip local favourite Sourav Ganguly of captaincy. Buchanan’s idea was eventually shelved, but Ganguly didn't retain his job either, as KKR’s Kiwi stumper Brendon McCullum became the new captain.

Needless to say, Kolkata was not happy, but Shah Rukh said, “For good and bad, the Kolkatans love us one night and one night they do get angry with our decisions. But I promise you guys that the dream I have is to come to Kolkata with the IPL trophy and dance. Will do some new steps for Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re.”

But this dream is far from coming true now, as his team only managed to win one match out of the seven they have played.

4. SRK selected six cheerleaders through his reality show Knights and Angels to cheer his team on in South Africa. But the South African cricket management did not allow them on the grounds, and he had no choice but to send them home, promising them work next IPL.

5. After a string of defeats suffered by the Kolkata Knight Riders, team owner Shah Rukh decided not to go back to South Africa unless KKR started to win. He said, “If they are doing well, I will go back. Otherwise, I don't like going back and feeling sad for the boys, because there is a lot of talent in the team and a lot of hard work.”

Fan gives tips to Shah Rukh Khan!

Dear Mr. Shahrukh Khan,

I am sorry about the state of affairs in your Kolkata Knight Riders. You are too good, but it does not mean that all around you will also be good.

KKR coach John Buchnan created an awful controversy of captaincy, then Ganguly was axed despite you and Buchanan being heard and seen telling all the world that ‘ dada’ is the jewel in the crown.

Then you also employed a very top heavy support staff and ratio of players to support staff is almost 1:1, which leads to nothing but confusion. Your team is also very huge in numbers, which needs to be pruned drastically.

When contracting players, you need to see their suitability for the shortest version of the game and not go by their past reputation. Unfortunately, that seems to have been the case and many of your players have not clicked in this version despite they being very good players otherwise.

I have a few suggestions:-

1. Employ an administrative manager cum security manager to look the day to day requirements of the team.

2. Replace the coach with an Indian coach, say Mohinder Amarnath, or anybody with equal amount of experience.

3. Prune the support staff to a reasonable level.

4. Announce that Sourav Ganguly will be the Captain for the next season.( Or you can do that even for the balance period of this season too, immediately).

5. Some of your better players have not been used till now, why? Please explore and take remedial measures.

By: A.R. Prabhakar (SRK Fan)