MUMBAI: Actor turned producer Shah Rukh Khan unveiled the look of his India Premiere League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders amidst BCCI vice president Lalit Modi, captain Saurav Ganguly and players Ishant Sharma, Murali Kartik, Akash Chopra and Cheteshwar Pujara.
The final date for submitting IPL team names is 18 March. Khan has named his team Knight Riders. The name, Khan says, is inspired from the phrase ‘knight in shining amour’ and also a stanza that his father recited to him during his childhood days.
A music video featuring Khan has been shot for the promotion of Knight Riders’ team. Music director duo Vishal and Shekhar have composed music and Ganesh Hedge has choreographed the song. If everything falls in place Khan will also release an entire album.
"I have also spoken with Bappi Lahiri, Usha Uthup and two bands from Bengal to compose songs for us and our film industry has a lot of actresses from Kolkata who I am sure will be willing to feature in the videos. The cricketers will not be a part of the videos, just like we will not be a part of their cricket. I am taking charge of adding the zing of entertainment," said Khan.
The colour scheme of the team is black and golden wherein black will testify the power of goddess Kali and gold stands for victory. A tiger named Hooglee will be the mascot of the team. Hooglee signifies the Bengal tiger in black and gold. A golden helmet is the insignia of the team.
Khan has already signed with known brands for the team. HDIL is the main sponsor of Knight Riders. S Kumar’s Belmonte (endorsed by Khan) and Manish Malhotra will design the black and gold attires that the men will sport at press conferences. Reebok has been roped in as the kit supplier for the team and Tag Heuer will design special watches for the players. The bid for Khan’s team was concluded at Rs 297 crores. This money will be generated through various mediums such as ticket sales and sponsorships.
BCCI vice president Lalit Modi said, "IPL too is making arrangements for the teams for generating money and recovering it. The revenues that will go back to the team include 80 per cent media rights, 60 per cent of sponsorship through brands, 100 per cent ticket sales, 100 per cent team sponsorship, 87½ per cent of merchandising and 100 per cent of hospitality. At least 3-4 teams will make profits in the first year itself."
The total worth of marketing promotions for IPL team’s amounts to $2 billion Modi said.
