As the 2025 IPL season approaches, IPL founder Lalit Modi has shared an interesting tidbit about the league’s origins.
While Shah Rukh Khan is now the proud owner of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), it turns out that KKR wasn’t his first choice. In a recent podcast with Raj Shamani, Modi revealed that SRK initially had his eyes on teams in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad, but his bids fell short.
Khan’s top choice was Mumbai, but it was acquired by Mukesh Ambani. Next, he tried for Bangalore, but the team went to Vijay Mallya, followed by Delhi, which was also outbid. With bids for these teams ranging from 100 million, Khan’s successful bid for Kolkata, at 85-87 million, secured him KKR.
Modi also highlighted Shah Rukh’s pivotal role in making the IPL a global phenomenon. He credited SRK for drawing women and children into the game, a crucial factor in the tournament’s success. He recalled that while celebrities were once paid to attend in the early years, by the third season, they were clamoring to be part of the IPL’s magic.
Shah Rukh’s influence, along with other stars like Deepika Padukone and Akshay Kumar joining as brand ambassadors, helped solidify the IPL as one of the world’s biggest sports events.