Venkatesh Iyer echoed Gautam Gambhir's view about Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, calling the Bollywood superstar a great franchise owner. Shah Rukh has often been seen supporting the team from the stands this season and motivating the players with his pep talk after matches.

Venkatesh, who is a senior member in the KKR camp, played a scintillating knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 1 and helped his team register a clinical 8-wicket win at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

The left-handed batter smashed an unbeaten 51 runs off 28 balls, embellished with five fours and four sixes. After KKR's emphatic win, Shah Rukh entered the ground to congratulate his players for their incredible performance and graciously greeted the SRH players.

Meanwhile, in a post-match video shared by KKR on their social media accounts, Venkatesh talked about how Shah Rukh acts like an elder brother to guide the players in the tough times.

“It speaks volumes of the man he (SRK) is. We have all seen him on the screen, mesmerising people with his aura, not just be an owner of the franchise but an elder brother figure for us, to guide us constantly,” Venkatesh said in the video.

The left-handed batter further revealed that when the tough gets going for any player, Shah Rukh Khan has always shown support towards them and lifted their morale with a pep talk.

“His (SRK) pep talk has not just lifted me but the likes of Nitish Rana who was reeling with injury. To comeback from the injury and to perform is a really big task. He’s a great franchise owner,” Venkatesh said.

Meanwhile, KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer also talked about the aura of the Bollywood megastar and suggested that his presence automatically helped the players to give their best.

“His presence itself gets that zest in the team environment. The attitude and approach automatically changes. It’s the perception over here (points to head),” Shreyas said.

KKR reach their fourth IPL final

Meanwhile, KKR reached their fourth IPL final on Tuesday after a clinical win over SRH in qualifier 1. Premier pacer Mitchell Starc produced a stunning opening burst of three wickets in the powerplay to break the back of SRH’s dangerous batting. They were eventually shot out for a mere 159 in 19.3 overs with Rahul Tripathi scoring a vital 55 while Heinrich Klaasen (32) and Pat Cummins (30) also fought hard. In reply, the Iyer duo smashed unbeaten half-centuries to make the chase a cakewalk for KKR as they chased down the target with 6.2 overs to spare.

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