IPL 2010: I don't tell my team how to play, says Shah Rukh Khan

Days after twitting to his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players that they stop giving excuses and instead deliver, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says he is neither involved in cricketing matters of his team nor the management part of it, but is only there to "entertain."

"I don't involve myself in the cricketing part. Because I feel if I tell them how to play, they will tell me how to act," the KKR owner said.

"I don't tell them (the players) much. I can only love them. Business decisions are taken by (co-owners) Juhi Chawla and Jai Mehta. I come to entertain."

However, he justified the stern warning through his twitter account. "It helps at times if you treat them (the Knight Riders cricketers) as boys."

SRK, as Shah Rukh is affectionately called, seemed happy after his side's convincing victory against the Deccan Chargers Thursday.

"It's good to see dada (KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly) among the runs. I told them (the cricketers) at the start of this season that we cannot do worse than last year's performance. So they can only take the team up".

With Ganguly leading from the front with a blazing 54-ball 88, the KKR scripted a 24-run win over the Deccan Chargers to move up to the fifth slot in the IPL table with eight points. The team had finished with the wooden spoon in the second edition of the tourney held in South Africa last year.

"It's most disappointing when the spectators come and we do not live up to expectations. So it's time we prove ourselves to the crowd at Eden Gardens," said King Khan.

The KKR are scheduled to play four more games at their home ground till April 19.

Asked about his IPL experience since 2008, Shah Rukh said, "The first two years I did not know what to do. I felt helpless when the team did not do well. But now I know the game has its share of ups and downs."

IPL 2010: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 39 runs

Ajit Agarkar and Shane Bond took two wickets each after Manoj Tiwary and Sourav Ganguly hit 75 and 50 respectively as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 39 runs in their IPL clash at PCA Stadium in Mohali on Saturday.

Chasing a victory target of 184 runs, Kings XI managed to score 144/6 in their 20 overs.

Irfan Pathan's was the last wicket to fall when he was dismissed caught and bowled by Bond.

Kings XI effectively lost the match when Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were dismissed in consecutive overs to leave the hosts tottering at 98/5.

Jayawardene (16) edged a full length delivery by Angelo Mathews onto his stumps while trying to play it to fine leg and in the next over Sangakkara went for a switch-hit against Chris Gayle and not only missed the delivery but also stumbled out of his crease to be stumped by Wriddhiman Saha.

Ajit Agarkar took his second wicket in his second over when he had Manvinder Bisla caught by David Hussey at mid-off to reduce Kings XI to 54/3.

Manoj Tiwary took a superb catch at deep mid-wicket as Agarkar dismissed Yuvraj Singh (24) for his first wicket in his first over.

Shane Bond trapped Ravi Bopara plumb in front of the wicket on the second ball as Kings XI Punjab got off to a poor start chasing 184 to win.

Kings XI lost their first wicket without a run on the board but Bopara was unlucky to given out as the ball was going over the stumps.

Earlier, Manoj Tiwary's unbeaten 75 and Sourav Ganguly's 50 enabled Knight Riders to set a 184-run target for Kings XI.

Tiwary hit 2 sixes and 8 fours in his 47-ball knock and hit Irfan Pathan for 2 sixes and 2 fours in the last over of the Knight Riders' innings.

Brett Lee took a good catch in the covers to send Angelo Mathews back to the dugout to give Pathan his second wicket.

Sourav Ganguly and David Hussey fell in successive overs shortly before Tiwary reached his fifty.

Pathan had Ganguly (50) caught by Piyush Chawla at mid-off as Knight Riders lost their third wicket.

In the next over, Chawla clean bowled Hussey (3) to reduce Knight Riders to 130/4.

Ganguly hit a 37-ball 50 soon after Kolkata Knight Riders crossed the 100-run mark.

This is Ganguly's first IPL 50 after 16 inings and came when his team needed it the most.

Ganguly's 50 came after Shalabh Srivastava had Mandeep Singh caught by Brett Lee at mid-on as Kolkata Knight Riders lost their second wicket.

This was Srivastava's second wicket in as many overs.

Manvinder Bisla took a superb catch at deep square leg as Kolkata Knight Riders lost Chris Gayle in the third over.

Gayle mistimed a pull off a Srivastava delivery and Bisla running from deep mid-wicket, dived and plucked the ball out of thin air to take the catch just in front of the ropes.

Gayle's dismissal brought some relief to the Kings XI camp as the swashbuckling batsman had already hit 3 fours in his 12-ball 14 after Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat.

Kolkata dropped Murali Kartik, Ishant Sharma, Chetweshwar Pujara, Harpreet Singh and brought in Ajit Agarkar, Manoj Tiwary, Iqbal Abdulla and David Hussey.

Punjab dropped S Sreesanth, Mohammad Kaif and Juan Theron and brought in Vikramjeet Malik, Karan Goel and Brett Lee.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sourav Ganguly (Capt.), Chris Gayle, Manoj Tiwary, Mandeep Singh, David Hussey, Angelo Mathews, Wriddhiman Saha, Shane Bond, Ajit Agarkar, Ashok Dinda, Iqbal Abdulla.

Kings XI Punjab: Kumar Sangakkara (Capt.), Ravi Bopara, Manvinder Bisla, Yuvraj Singh, Mahela Jayawardene, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Shalabh Srivastava, Brett Lee, Karan Goel, Vikramjeet Malik.

Shahrukh does 'Dadagiri' with Sourav Ganguly

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan breezed in Kolkata recently to participate in the grand finale of 'Dadagiri Unlimited', a quiz show hosted by his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Sourav Ganguly.

"Dada ko pakadna mushkil hi nehin, na mumkin hai," 'new Don' SRK said during the shoot at Mohun Bagan football club. ln his one hour stint, Shah Rukh mouthed dialogues from his films, sang KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI and also danced to OM SHANTI OM with Sourav and the finalists.

SRK’s dadagiri over Ganguly

It’s SRK’s turn to do a bit of Dadagiri now. And that too with Sourav Ganguly. Speculation was rife about who the celebrity guest would be for the grand finalé of Dada’s quiz show.

The one name that frequently came up was that of King Khan. With Sourav as the Knight Riders’ captain, it was but obvious for many to guess that the Badshah would come down to Kolkata for Dada’s gameshow.

News is that SRK has indeed given his nod to this. Says Sanjoy Chatterjee, senior VP and business head of the regional channel, which airs the show, “It’s confirmed that SRK is coming down in mid-December for shooting the grand finalé. Due to the highly competitive environment, we can’t divulge any further details about the format of that show. Besides, we are also talking about two very high profile celebs.” Ask Chatterjee how much of clout Sourav wielded in getting SRK on board and he says, “Dada has played an important role in getting SRK. Dada is extremely involved with the show and interacts freely with both celeb guests as well as regular participants on the show.”

It now remains to be seen how SRK fields Dada’s googly on the sets!

SHAH RUKH MENDS TIES WITH GANGULY

Who says that the relations between actor Shah Rukh Khan and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly have been strained after the IPL? This isn't so any more as both of them will soon be coming together on Dada's Zee Bangla TV show "Dadagiri". Sourav has already been hosting the quiz show for quite some time now, but the channel is keen on making it national by bringing in Shah Rukh Khan too. Yes, this will be their first public appearance together after the IPL 2009, when both developed cold relations . Since Sourav's show "Dadagiri" has already become very popular in Bengal in such a short time the producers want to make it national by making it in Hindi.

Zee Bangla TV is currently in negotiating with Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji to come on the opening episode when it goes national. Shah Rukh is very eager to come on the show as their appearance together on a national show would go a long way to prove that his relations with Sourav Ganguly are not only friendly but also rocking! Let's hope that the negotiations between the channel and the actor are successful so the national show could begin early next year.

Ganguly captain, Wright coach of SRK'S KKR in 2010: Sources

Sourav Ganguly is almost certain to be reinstated as the captain while John Wright is likely to take over as the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the third edition of the Indian Premier League in 2010, team sources said on Saturday.

Even as an official announcement is awaited, sources said that there could be a major reshuffle with former India coach Wright likely to replace John Buchanan as Knight Riders coach, while former Australian middle-order batsman Michael Bevan will be in the coaching panel.

Sources said Ganguly would be back at the helm in 2010 when his contract with the Kolkata team ends and the iconic Bengal cricketer had a one-on-one with prinicipal owner Shah Rukh Khan when the duo met in London to receive doctorates by the University of Central Lancashire last week.

"Ganguly and Shah Rukh Khan had a discussion about this when the left-hander was in London last week. They have agreed in priniciple that Ganguly will lead the side," the source said.

"There were also discussions about the possible coaches. Wright and Bevan are the front runners. It is up to Shah Rukh to take the final call."

Ganguly, meanwhile, said that nothing is final as yet and a proper announcement will be made in due time.

"I don't take the decision of KKR alone. There are a number of people involved in the process. But hopefully in due course of time we will get a person who will coach the team. The decision has not been made yet," Ganguly said.

The Knight Riders management was also tightlipped about the development. When contacted, Knight Riders CEO Joy Bhattacharya said, "At the moment, I don't deny this (Ganguly as captain and Wright as the chief coach). However, there has not been any official announcement as yet."

Asked whether he was aware of this development, he said, "I don't want to comment on this. When there is an official announcement, we will let you know." In the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa, Kolkata Knight Riders were plagued awith controversies especially after Ganguly was dethroned just two days before the start of the tournament.

Knight Riders coach John Buchanan, who later had to part ways with the side after their bottom place finish, had floated the idea of multiple captaincy but only to hand over the baton to New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.

IPL III, which was pre-poned to accommodate the ICC World Twenty20, begins in March next year and will overlap with Australia's tour of New Zealand.

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)

Stars don't favour SRK and Sourav

First Sourav Ganguly was dethroned from captaincy of Knight Riders, then there was the rumour that the team will have four rotating captains, and then reportedly there was a fallout between the owner Shah Rukh Khan, coach John Buchanan and Sourav. Now the team is at the lowest point tally in the IPL score sheet.

Some well-known astrologers provided us their 'starry explanations' for the above...

Explains Ajai Rai Madan, "Sourav Ganguly has a very strong Sun in his birth chart. He is born to lead independently.

What's hampering the situation is that there are two other powerful decision makers, SRK and John, who want to make decisions that may not be in favour of Sourav. It's like the case of two or more swords in one sheath. Moreover, Shah Rukh Khan has entered such a phase in life where his career has come to a plateau. He can only go down from here. And that's what you are witnessing before your eyes."

According to numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi, there's a logic why it's difficult for SRK and Sourav to get along for long. "Shahrukh is born on a day which is number 2 and Sourav is number 8. Two is moon and eight is Saturn making them arch rivals in numerology. On top of this, Shahrukh is in his 44th year which adds to eight again making it unfavourable for him. For Sourav, the year 2009 is unfavourable as it adds up to two. So there is quite a bit of contrasting situations for both at the moment," he says.

Other factors, according to Sangghvi, could be the black colour costume which is the colour of Saturn and is not good for SRK. Besides that, the team changed its name to only Knight Riders which is also not very lucky.

Bejan Daruwalla is of the opinion, "Jupiter, the planet of luck, has such force that when it works it can make the cricket ball fall between three fielders and no one can catch it. But when it doesn't work, then everything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong. For both SRK and Sourav, the planet will not favour them this year."

Who will win the IPL
All three astrologers are very positive about Delhi Daredevils or Mumbai Indians winning the tournament this year!

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.

Dada is a dude for Knight Riders: Shah Rukh

Durban: Sourav Ganguly may no longer be the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders, but team owner Shah Rukh Khan feels the former Indian skipper is still a "dude" and pivotal in the side's scheme of things in the on-going IPL.

"Dada is fantastic and there is no two ways about it. He does not need to prove it to anyone how great as a player he is. We know it in KKR. He's the main cog of our team. He's the guy the team centres around," Shah Rukh said in praise of Ganguly.

"(Brendon) McCullum, (Chris) Gayle, Brad (Hodge), David (Hussey), Ishant (Sharma), (Ashok) Dinda, Laxmi Ratan (Shukla) all feel the support from him, feel his intelligence, feel his winning ways. Dada is a dude," said the Bollywood superstar.

Shah Rukh also felt that Ganguly's two wickets for 24 runs tilted the match in his team's favour against Kings XI Punjab.

"Against Kings XI Punjab he was amazing with those couple of wickets. When Dada came on and got those two early wickets it changed the match in our favour and after that also he sort of kept them quiet and scared. I think that made a lot of difference," he was quoted as saying by IPL official website.

Shah Rukh said it was too early to start celebrating after his team posted its first win in two games by beating Kings XI Punjab.

"It's good for the team that it has started coming together. Our top-order whether it's Ishant Sharma (in bowling) or Sourav Ganguly, Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle (batting) all are coming good together. We did not play too hot on the first day. I think the first match would be considered as a practice match and we are working on the mistakes committed on day one. The team is working together and that's what makes me feel a little more firm and good. But there is still a long way to go," he said.

Shah Rukh had a tough choice when asked who he thinks is bigger hitter between Chris Gayle or Brendon McCullum. "It is very difficult to say that. With Gayle we have a bet that he has to send one ball from South Africa to Kolkata and with McCullum we have that he has to send one back to New Zealand. We'll find out who is going to win. "I think both have their different strengths. Gayle has this timing and strength, McCullum has all timing and bliss.

McCullum is more like (Virender) Sehwag who times the ball whereas Gayle has got this strength like Yuvraj Singh. You can't really choose between them, they are both fantastic and when they both get going it is fantastic to watch."

Knight Riders hit by mental blog

CAPE TOWN: Shah Rukh Khan has spent a lot of money building up PR for Kolkata Knight Riders. He’s hired the right firms, been out there in the public just about all the time; there’ve been parties, press conferences, cheerleaders, music and almost all the right kind of bytes given by the superstar himself.

Yet, he’s a troubled man. That’s not just because KKR got off to bad start or that relations between ex-captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Buchanan continue to be strained. It’s mainly got to do with an unknown blogger - who claims to be a KKR team member - bent on letting the cat out of the bag all the time.

The blogger - calling himself Fake IPL Player - is sure he’ll never be a part of the playing XI. "But, there’s one thing I do very well. Serve drinks. And that’s what I am expecting do in South Africa," he writes.

Evidently, he’s doing much more. The day begins with posts on what KKR did at the breakfast table to what Khan had to say to his team, who listened, who smirked, what the coach did the whole day, how’s Ganguly coping with lost captaincy and of course, what the rest of the teams and their players have been up to.

The blogger uses names coined by him to refer to these people. So the pieces are about "our megalomaniac owner", Badshah d****, Coachie, Skipper (Brendon McCullum), Calypso King (Chris Gayle), Lord Almighty or Lordie (a former skipper) and fast bowlers Kaan Moolo and Little John.

Then there are non-KKR personalities like a commentator, Kishen Kanhaiyya, a star batsman, Prince of Patiala and a pacer, Appam Ch*****, among others.

KKR camp slams ‘poison-pen’ blog

An unknown blogger who claims to be a Kolkata Knight Riders team member is letting out what he claims to be KKR team news, giving co-owner Shah Rukh Khan a big headache.

The blogger claims to bring "news" straight from the dressing room. Sample: "Lordie ( a former skipper) took over the match briefing, and boy, was he charged up or what. He just let loose, telling the boys what is expected of them - imagine the slowest member of the team chastizing guys twice as fast on matters such as agility, speed and throwing."

The blog has become such a rage that almost all players in the tournament are clued in, wanting to know who partied where the last night, who went out with whom, and so on.

There’s more. The blogger claims that there’s now a ‘witch-hunt’ to nab him within the next 24 hours and he’s convinced that that will just not be possible.

The team seems to be rattled. Kolkata Knight Riders arrived in Cape Town on Thursday morning for their match against Team Jaipur on Friday.

However, on Thursday, at least till late afternoon, there wasn’t a clue what the team was up to. No training session, no press conference. None of the players or officials were seen moving out of their hotel rooms. Phones were either switched off or put on voice mail.

There was just a buzz that there’d be a team meeting presided over by SRK. But that remained a buzz till the time of going to press.

KKR CEO Joy Bhattacharya has called the blog "poison-pen writing of the dirtiest variety". According to him, there are far too many factual errors and far too little information or insight for the writer to successfully pretend to be a KKR member.

The KKR management’s response itself has provoked several pieces. Like this one: "In Cape Town. Laptops hv bn banned. I’net removed fm rooms. But posts wl continue thru SMS, relayed by my bro in India."

There’s serious gossip doing the rounds not just within the KKR camp but among other teams as well.
There are rumours that there’s quite a bit of infighting inside the team and that a few players and coach and the owner don’t see eye to eye. One of the blogs says how Ganguly is waiting for that one big knock to get back at SRK.

The latest one also talks about senior players being questioned about the blog.

So, who’s Fake IPL Player? That’s now a subject of intense speculation. Is he actually a KKR member or just faking it? The blogger describes himself as a "perennial no hoper" Ranji cricketer who bowls and bats a bit, and fields "like a maniac". There are several personal references - but these could well be red herrings.

Stripping captaincy from Ganguly 'cricketing decision': Shah Rukh

Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan termed stripping of captaincy from Sourav Ganguly as a "cricketing decision taken for the betterment of the team" and the former India captain was also involved in the decision making.

"It was a cricketing decision. People who have cricketing head and mind -- Dada (Ganguly), (John) Buchanan and team management -- had taken the decision. I hope it is for the betterment of the team," Shah Rukh said.

New Zealander Brendon McCullum was appointed captain in place last season skipper Ganguly on Friday, which set to rest weeks of speculation after KKR Director of Cricket Buchanan kicked up a controversy with his multiple captaincy idea.

Ganguly, on his part, said he "would not mind" with the decision and now the focus should be on every team member performing well.

"It was a team decision. I don't mind with that. Now everybody will have to perform if the team wants to do well in the tournament," he said.

KKR to go with single captain: Shah Rukh

Sourav Ganguly reached Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss captaincy issues with the Kolkata Knight Riders team owner Shah Rukh Khan who has also invited coach John Buchanan.

A lot of speculations were made as to who would be the new captain of the Indian Premier League team KKR in the second season, especially after John Buchanan came up with his theory of ‘rotating captains’.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan said on Monday that his team will go ahead in the second season of the Indian Premier League with a single captain only and Sourav Ganguly is still the main man of the team.

While walking the ramp in the Lakme Fashion Week, SRK said that Twenty20 is a new format of the game and there is always a room for innovation. However, KKR will sport only one captain in all the matches of the IPL 2 in South Africa, contrary to what coach John Buchanan had proposed a couple of days ago.

Buchanan came up with a theory of having ‘multiple captains’ in the team; one for fielding, one for batting, one for bowling and one for the toss as well. The concept created an outrage in the team’s home city, Kolkata, as it the idea seemed more of a conspiracy to dethrone Sourav Ganguly from the captaincy of the team.

Shah Rukh, however, nullified all arguments after he said that the ‘rotating captains’ theory will not be followed in South Africa and it will be only in case of some emergency that a stand-by captain kept.

He also said that it is he who’ll be taking all the decision regarding the team and he has given no free-hand to anybody regarding any issues in the team.

“Like the film Chak De India, there can be just one ‘gunda’ (boss) in the team and that is me,” said SRK.

He also added that, “There has never been anything anti-dada. We love him and all the decision will be made with his consent.”

Will SRK put Dada back in driver's seat

In what could lead to a new development in the ongoing saga at the Kolkata Knight riders camp, deposed captain, Sourav Ganguly reached Mumbai today (March 28). Ganguly is in the city to shoot for an ad film with the Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan.

It is believed that Ganguly will meet SRK and get some clarity on the issue of 4 captains raised by the Kinght Riders Cricket Manager John Buchanan.

Contrasting versions have emerged from the KKR camp after Sourav Ganguly first revealed to TIMES NOW that he was not consulted before appointing rotating captains. "I read in the press. I talked with John yesterday. John thinks it should be the way T20 should be played. I read in the press first", Sourav said.

"John is trying to work this out in the form of warm-up games and practice games. Let's not go too far into this. John is also not part of a team which had this situation. I was told that he tried once with the Australian team but it didn't go forward. We will all do what is best for the team", Ganguly added.

"He is the coach of the team, he has his plans, which he feels is good for his team. It is completely new...I have never been a part of a team were there are 3-4 captains," he said on the reported differences with Buchanan", Ganguly said in an exclusive interview to Times Now.

A day later John Buchanan added a new twist to the tale saying that Ganguly was indeed consulted before he revealed his plans to the press. "I had discussed about the plans with Sourav after the first IPL season got over. Shahrukh Khan has given me a freehand in cricketing matters", Buchanan said.

Though Ganguly had earlier said that Shah Rukh will have a final say in the matter, he has however denied that he will raise the issue when he meets SRK later today.