Shahrukh Khan IPL Investment: The ₹20 Crore Gamble SRK Almost Rejected Before KKR Changed Cricket History
Lalit Modi convinced Shah Rukh Khan to own a team in IPL even before the league took place
Shah Rukh Khan, the name itself in India is an institution. And that too not only because of his international identity as an actor but also in the field of cricket. In Indian cricket, IPL is a crucial part and so is SRK. But this close-knit relationship between SRK and IPL was not that easy to tie, said Lalit Modi the former BCCI president in a recent interview.
IPL has always been oriented towards B-town celebrities. Be it Preety Zinta, Shilpa Shetty, Juhi Chawla or Shah Rukh Khan. Involvement of these celebrities and owning a team from different cities of India is one of the most dominant usp of the league.
Modi said, when the Idea of the league emerged inside his head he knew he had to do something innovative otherwise the league won't take place. First of all, he was thinking of a slot at 8 pm. This particular slot is entirely dominated by the daily soaps all over the country. So, to telecast a cricket league in that particular slot and draw the audience's attention won't be possible with this kind of twist.
Before convincing Shah Rukh about the KKR franchise deal, Lalit Modi proved, how SRK's involvement with the game creates a huge mass acceptance, by taking him to a match in Jaipur. King Khan was not really an admirer of cricket. So, he was not convinced at first hand. Especially the amount of 20crore seemed a lot to him. So he tried to turn off the possibility of him owning a whole team in the IPL.
Meanwhile, a mobile company arrived as a saviour. They wanted to project SRK as their brand ambassador but couldn't. Here lies Modi's strategic planning. He asked the company to sponsor the jersey for the team and assured that Shah Rukh would be wearing that jersey. On the other hand, he asked for an advance for the sponsorship. And conveyed the entire matter to SRK. And he agreed to that plan, and the rest is history.
Sportscape feels that this entire planning of bringing SRK to the frontier of Indian Cricket as well as the thought of bringing him to the frontier of cricket is amazing. And wishes to see SRK's team Kolkata Knight Riders lift more IPL trophies in future.
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