Shah Rukh Khan wanted Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore before landing KKR, reveals Lalit Modi: ‘He brought women and children into the game’

With just months remaining before the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season begins, the league’s founder, Lalit Modi, sat down for a rare interview, sharing insights about the inception of what has become the world’s largest cricket tournament. Modi delved into Shah Rukh Khan’s involvement in the league and the actor’s journey toward owning the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). While KKR has since become a fan-favourite team, Modi revealed that it wasn’t Shah Rukh’s initial choice. The Bollywood superstar initially tried to secure franchises in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad but eventually ended up with Kolkata.

Speaking to Raj Shamani on his podcast, Modi explained, “Every person could bid for all teams. Shah Rukh Khan’s main attraction was to bid for Ahmedabad or Mumbai. At that time, he didn’t get it, he put a low number. He got Calcutta. His first choice was Mumbai but Mukesh Ambani took Mumbai. Bangalore was SRK’s second choice but Vijay Mallya took it. His third choice was Delhi, but that too went to someone else. His bid was much lower. His was something 70-80 million, and all of these cities were 100 million. Calcutta was 85 -87 million and that’s what he got.”

During the same interaction, Lalit Modi admitted that Shah Rukh Khan was vital for IPL as his presence filled stadium with women and children. He shared, “For me, Shah Rukh was going to bring in women and children into the game. Women and children were extremely important for IPL to click in terms of viewership.” He added, “I said to myself to get people in the stadium, I need Shah Rukh Khan. In year one, we had to pay celebrities to come and attend. In year two, they came on their own. In year three, they wanted us to invite them to the game because everybody wanted to become a part of the game. In year 1, after they saw Shah Rukh Khan, somebody took Deepika as their brand ambassador, somebody took someone else as the brand ambassador, somebody took Akshay Kumar. Film stars brought a lot to the game.” Also read | Rajkummar Rao answers if he’s charging Rs 5 crore after massive Stree 2 success: ‘I am not stupid to burden my producers’ Established in 2008, the Kolkata Knight Riders continue to thrive under the joint ownership of Shah Rukh Khan, actor Juhi Chawla, and her husband Jay Mehta. In 2022, Shah Rukh and Juhi’s children—Aryan Khan, Suhana Khan, and Jahnavi Mehta—actively participated in the IPL auction, marking their first presence at the auction without their parents.

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