MUMBAI: We all remember the controversy Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan had landed into, last year, during an IPL (India Premier League) match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
SRK had had a much publicized scuffle with a security guard and an official at the stadium. Things turned ugly to the extent that the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) imposed a ban on the actor for a period of five years!
Co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR, which incidentally won that year) Shah Rukh Khan refused to apologize stating that his children were manhandled. The MCA thus stuck to its ban.
Two months ago, the MCA added a new clause to the IPL – contract with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The clause stated that it will only allow accredited persons to enter the Wankhede Stadium, while the door remains slammed shut on those who have been banned.
This put things as they stand currently, in a in a bit of dilemma. For this year, Shah Rukh Khan and his Red Chillies Entertainment are hosting the IPL opening gala. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla stated that as a franchise owner, Khan should have the right to enter the stadium during his team’s matches. He even took the responsibility of bringing an amicable solution to the Shah Rukh-MCA issue.
In a new development to the matter, today evening, a representative from BCCI has met the MCA president Ravi Savant to resolve the issue, a year later.
Confirmed an MCA official, “We have received a request from the BCCI to have a meeting on the Shah Rukh Khan issue. We have a clause in the IPL contract which will not allow a banned person inside the stadium and BCCI doesn’t want that clause. We are also meeting the Mumbai Indians.”
The IPL season 6, starting off on April 3 will have a KKR match scheduled to play at Wankhede on May 7, 2013.