Lalit Modi, founder of Indian Premier League and former vice president of BCCI, spoke about how he convinced actor Shah Rukh Khan to buy an IPL team. Speaking with Raj Shamani on his YouTube channel, Lalit called Shah Rukh "the pillar" of IPL. He recalled that despite not knowing about bidding, Shah Rukh agreed to do it. Lalit Modi also added that he felt it was necessary for Shah Rukh to be associated with IPL in order to make people come to the stadium and connect with the game, especially women and children.

Lalit talks about Shah Rukh and IPL

Lalit said, "Shah Rukh Khan is the pillar (of IPL) because I knew Bollywood is, that's to do with viewership, it's got nothing to do with this. Shah Rukh was pivotal to bid for a team, so he bid for a team. He said, ‘Mujhe kuch pata toh hai nahi, main bid karta hoon (I don’t know anything, I'll bid).' His main attraction was bidding for Ahmedabad or Mumbai. He put different numbers for different cities; he got Calcutta."

‘I need Shah Rukh Khan’

"Shah Rukh was pivotal in me getting into bid that still didn't make any difference to IPL. It became big news...To be Shah Rukh was going to be able to bring women and children into the game... I said to get people into the stadium I need Shah Rukh Khan. So he got people into the stadium," he added.

Lalit on how he convinced SRK for IPL

Lalit also shared how he convinced Shah Rukh to buy an IPL team. He said when he told the actor that he would have to be present everywhere for IPL events, he replied that he had film commitments. When Lalit insisted that IPL was bigger than his films, Shah Rukh laughed adding "if you say so".

Redditors react

A clip from the interview was shared on Reddit. Reacting to it, a person said, "I clearly remember how SRK was promoting IPL day and night across TV channels in 2008. A lot of industry people were apprehensive of SRK's investing; some even commented that he was going to go bankrupt, but SRK was sure that he would make KKR a huge brand, and in the long run, KKR has emerged as one of the most successful IPL teams."

A comment read, "Something praiseworthy about SRK’s association with KKR is that even after a lacklustre start for 3-4 years, he didn’t back out and sell the team. He was passionate & confident about it, so he tried his best to make the team better. SRK eventually succeeded in doing that as KKR won the trophy for the first time in 2012." "One of the reasons why SRK is successful is because he's a far-sighted man. He keeps learning, and that's why his investments are so good," read a comment.

A Reddit user said, "Credit to him for taking the risk." "Initially, when KKR was not doing well, many made fun of SRK, saying things like he was not fit for business. They wanted to buy his stake in KKR. Srk refused and said he had made a lot of emotional investment in Kkr and was not selling it. The amount of love I have invested in it, nobody in this world can afford to buy it," wrote a person.

About KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), founded in 2008, represent Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Shah Rukh, Juhi Chawla, and Jay Mehta. KKR qualified for the IPL playoffs for the first time in 2011 and became IPL champions in 2012. They repeated the feat in 2014 and again in 2024.

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