With only some months left till the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season kicks off, IPL founder Lalit Modi gave a glimpse into the origins of what has turn into the world’s greatest cricket match. Modi mentioned Shah Rukh Khan’s function within the league and the way the actor turned the proprietor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Though KKR has grown into one of the vital beloved groups, Modi revealed that KKR wasn’t Khan’s first alternative. The actor had initially tried to accumulate franchises in cities reminiscent of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad earlier than lastly deciding on Kolkata.
In a dialog with Raj Shamani on his podcast, Lalit Modi defined that anybody may bid for any staff through the preliminary IPL auctions. He revealed that Shah Rukh Khan was notably enthusiastic about bidding for groups in Ahmedabad or Mumbai, however his bid was decrease, so he ended up buying Kolkata Knight Riders as a substitute.
Modi shared that Mumbai was Khan’s first alternative, however Mukesh Ambani secured it. Bangalore was SRK’s second alternative, but it surely went to Vijay Mallya, and his third alternative was Delhi, which additionally went to a different bidder.
Modi famous that SRK’s bid was round 70-80 million, whereas the bids for these cities had been round 100 million. Kolkata, at 85-87 million, was the place Shah Rukh Khan’s bid succeeded.
In the identical interview, Modi acknowledged Shah Rukh Khan’s significance to the IPL, stating that his involvement helped appeal to ladies and kids to the sport, which was essential for the match’s success by way of viewership.
He mentioned, “For me, Shah Rukh was going to herald ladies and kids into the sport. Ladies and kids had been extraordinarily essential for IPL to click on by way of viewership.”
He additional defined how SRK’s presence impacted the IPL’s development, “In yr one, we needed to pay celebrities to attend. By yr two, they got here on their very own. By yr three, they wished to be invited as a result of everybody wished to be a part of the sport.”
Modi additionally talked about that after SRK’s involvement, different celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, and others turned model ambassadors, additional boosting the IPL’s recognition.
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