AbRam, Dilwale join SRK for KKR

Shah Rukh Khan to buy new cricket team?
When Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Sohail Khan were offered to come on board as the owners of three cricket teams in a new league featuring retired cricket players, the three immediately put on their game face.

The league brings back six former cricketing icons to captain the six participating teams, which have been named after the zodiac signs. Wasim Akram, former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and West Indian player Brian Lara, who holds the record for the highest individual score in a Test innings, scoring 400 not out against England in 2004, were the first players to come on board. Following suit was, former Australian captain, Adam Gilchrist, known for being an attacking left-handed batsman and record-break ing wicket-keeper. Two Sri Lankan players, known for their long time friendship and association, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara will head two teams and the latest entrant to the league is, Virender Sehwag, India's right handed opening batsman, who announced his retirement, a few days ago.

“The series follows 18 matches beginning on January 26 and will be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. One team is owned by Dhoni's business partner, Arun Pandey," Sam Khan, Chief Executive Director of the league told Mirror.

“We've been working on the project since three years and met Sanjay Dutt last month with the offer. He was excited to come on board. His wife, Manyata will be the co-owner of his team.Shah Rukh Khan and Sohail Khan are also finalising the terms of purchasing a team each," Sam pointed out. The league will feature 260 retired players, including former Pakistani fast-bowler, Shoaib Akhtar and Australian cricketer-turned commentator-Brett Lee.

The team of Rohit Shetty's next, Dilwale, were in attendance at the Brabourne stadium to support Shah Rukh Khan's team, Kolkata Knight Riders in their match against the Rajasthan Royals. The team, comprising of Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon and Varun Sharma, kept SRK company throughout the match. It was a nail-biting contest that kept the audience on the edge. Considering that the match was a crucial one for both the sides, the efforts were justified.

While SRK sat tight during the final overs of the match, here's who he enjoyed with, in the beginning of the match...

While he was being carried by dad SRK in the first match of the tournament, AbRam sat on his own chair in the last match before the Qualifiers. AbRam sported the same, white KKR jersey as the first match. He was his usual, adorable self as he stared wide-eyed at the brightly lit stadium where his dad's knights battled it out. While his sweet chants might have been muffled by the roaring crowds, it sure must have added to the team's spirit.

Here's what Shah Rukh tweeted post the match...

Though his team lost the contest, Shah Rukh Khan took to Facebook to share his views on the match. Instead of being sad or unhappy, the actor seemed to be encouraging the team. He wrote, "Well tried Kolkata Knight Riders. Awesome display Rajasthan Royals. Absolutely deserving winners!!! And the best hospitality in any arena CCI…thank u so much. My KKR team. Love you. It’s alright to be a lil sad. Each one played like a champ but sometimes our best is not good enough,as Genesis said,‘That’s all’." [sic]

While that's all the co-owner of KKR posted, here's what the losing captain had to say...

Gautam Gambhir was indeed dejected with the loss, more so because it means that the KKR will mostly be out of the tournament with this defeat. Assessing the reason for the loss, Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper, Gautam Gambhir said, "The destiny was in our hands today, but we messed it up. The credit goes to Rajasthan for playing like that. The way Shane (Watson) batted was magnificent and it was always going to be difficult for us. Good luck to Rajasthan for the playoffs. We knew that it was going to be a high-scoring game but 199 on the board was always tough. We knew we could chase it down, but there's no denying that it was always going to be difficult. All the sides are quality sides and that's what the table shows. There are certain games that we should have won and it is a very competitive league, this is what happens when there are so many quality sides playing together. We will finish with 15 points and still not make it. That shows the quality of this league."

Read on to find out what the Man of the Match had to say...

Rajasthan Royals' Shane Watson won the Man of the Match award. Here's what he said during the post-match ceremony. "Throughout the tournament, I couldn't get going that well and it is nice that it came off today. We had a good lead up, we had a couple of days off and it was a good time to work on a couple of things. It's good that all of it worked out. Yes, especially bowling wise (on being asked about whether giving Smith the captaincy has helped). There's no doubt that it's hard for me to know when to bowl myself, that's why it makes it easier. There are so many incredible sides in the IPL, there is no weakness as such. Any side could win on a given day. It will be great if we can make it to the final, give us a chance to win it. It will be nice to do it for the fans and the owners as well. It is as good as I have batted for a long time, in T20 cricket. I am a little bit tired. Rest for a couple of days and will be ready to go again," he said.