NEW DELHI: As co-owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Indian film superstar Shah Rukh Khan often visits stadiums to watch his team play matches in the cash-rich tournament.
Under his ownership, KKR has seen ups and downs, winning the IPL title twice, in 2012 and 2014, under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir.
Despite a few challenging seasons since then, Shah Rukh Khan has been steadfast in supporting the team and has become a symbol of loyalty for KKR fans.
SRK‘s presence in the franchise has also drawn a global fan base, especially given his star power in the world.
Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins made his IPL debut in 2014 for KKR and also played for them in the 2015 edition.
Cummins was bought back by KKR for Rs 15.5 crore in the IPL 2020 auction and played for them in the 2021 and 2022 editions also.
But in a viral video, Cummins is saying in a podcast that he didn’t know who was Shah Rukh Khan when he met him for the first time.
Cummins says, “This is going to get me in trouble, but the first time I ever met Shah Rukh Khan, I had no idea who he was. I think I was 18 or 19 years old, I had never watched a Bollywood film. I met him and said this guy is cool, he’s got a real aura around him, he had a few big security guards. And it was more seeing the other young Indian players so shy with him around and I was like this guy must be pretty special, always very funny, very cute, in terms of a leader and the owner of the team, you couldn’t have asked for a better one. He would only ask us players to enjoy ourselves, to play with freedom. Lots of other owners have a lot of pressure upon themselves, to him just to try and take away all the pressure is great.”
Pat Cummins opted out of the 2023 IPL season to focus on national commitments and manage workload, showing his commitment to maintaining peak fitness for international cricket.
In the 2024 IPL auction, Cummins was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 20.5 crore, making him the second-most-expensive player in IPL history after his teammate Mitchell Starc who was bought by KKR for Rs 24.75 crore.
SRH, led by Cummins, finished the 2024 tournament as runners-up after losing the final against KKR.