MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan’s team Kolkata Knight Riders is languishing at the bottom of the pile and critics are wondering as to why SRK is not throwing out John Buchanan, why is Brendon McCullum still playing when he is not in any form, why is SRK not taking stern action like Vijay Mallya did with his management in the first edition of IPL, when they were not performing?
In an interview with Businessofcinema.com prior to the start of the IPL, SRK had said, “The team should not feel that we have to perform for the sake of the owners. They are too young to go through that kind of pressure and Juhi, Jay Mehta or I would not want them to feel like that. They have to believe that they need to play well for themselves.”
And true to his word, SRK never put any pressure on his boys, but he certainly showed his displeasure at their performance by leaving the Rainbow country. The team has been trimmed but certainly no cricketer or staff has been given the pink slip, yet.
Decisions will certainly be taken post the tournament. But whilst the tournament is on, the momentum is not broken, because Khan believes in giving everybody a fair chance and as the saying goes, in cricket, one never knows until the last ball is bowled. And in the IPL with still five more games to go, with international cricketers leaving to play for their country, fortunes are changing ever day. There are still no clear favourites yet, and anything can be expected as the competition progresses.
