All is not well between SRK and Ganguly
21 May 2008, 0017 hrs IST,TNN
MUMBAI: Has the peace in the Kolkata Knight Riders' camp been shattered? Are 'Dada' Sourav Ganguly and 'Badshah' Shah Rukh Khan not getting along with each other anymore? Yes, say insiders.
The two power centres in the Kolkata team are not seeing eye to eye on many issues. The problem apparently started with the entertainment tax that Shah Rukh Khan is paying for the matches being played at the Eden Gardens.
The Bollywood star wanted Ganguly to speak to West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and try and get it abolished. The Kolkata captain, who is known to be close to the CM, has refused to oblige, at least till now.
Interestingly, it is learnt that Eden Gardens is the only stadium where an IPL team is paying entertainment tax. That is not all though. The bigger bone of contention is KKR's sudden dip in form and its poor performance in the last few games, harming their semifinal chances. Shah Rukh, sources say, is not too happy with this change of fortunes although he hasn't expressed his feelings openly. Ganguly, on the other hand, has not been too pleased with the team composition right from the beginning. The differences surfaced during the auction itself, with Sourav wanting more batsmen while the team management was more keen on bowlers.
The problems magnified when coach John Buchanan was given more powers than the captain himself. To add fuel to the fire, Shah Rukh announced that the coach will take all the decisions for the team next year onwards, upsetting Ganguly in the bargain.
Ganguly has apparently already begun showing his discontent: he preferred to go back home after the last match rather than stay back for a press conference to annouce Knight Riders' tie-up with a website. Said an insider, who was present at the event, "Shah Rukh did pass some caustic remarks saying, 'I thank all my teammates for being at the press conference but who can forget Dada who is missing from the event'."
The duo also had a spat when Khan was keen that his team fielded first in the last game against Chennai; Ganguly, however, preferred to bat first. Eventually, the Knight Riders lost by 3 runs on Duckworth-Lewis following a rain interruption.
Showing posts with label Sha Rukh Khan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sha Rukh Khan. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Shah Rukh Khan stopped by ICC at Kolkatta match
The International Cricket Council on Monday expressed surprise at film star Shah Rukh Khan's [Images] statement that its anti-corruption unit had asked him not to be with the team on the playing field, saying the IPL tournament is being played under the Board of Control for Cricket in India's rules and regulations.
The ICC [Images] said the IPL is a domestic tournament and the game's governing body does not have any role in formulating the rules.
"The reported incident has nothing to do with the ICC as IPL is a domestic tournament which is being held under the Rules and Regulations of the BCCI," an ICC spokesman said from Dubai.
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IPL salary cap should stay, says Ponting
"Furthermore, the ICC Board in its meeting held in Dubai on 17-18 March had decided that IPL will introduce a code of conduct, an anti-corruption code and an anti-doping code that complies with ICC regulations," he said.
Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan had on Sunday night claimed he had been barred by the ICC anti-corruption unit from going to the team dug out and dressing room for the remaining IPL matches.
"I like to hang around with the boys. I am very energetic. I am very disappointed that the ICC has stopped me," he said.
"I don't know the ICC rules. I'll tell only one thing: Nobody dare stop me from coming to Kolkata. I'll be here whenever my team plays a match at the Eden," Khan said.
Asked whether Shah Rukh needed an accreditation for the IPL matches, the ICC spokesman said, "Everybody needs an accreditation and these are in line with the anti-corruption code. BCCI is following the anti-corruption code. Now I don't know what modifications they have made to the code."
Knight Riders CEO Joy Bhattacharya played down the incident and said Shah Rukh was actually stopped by security personnel for not carrying a visitors' pass.
"Look there is nothing like that. It was a gentleman from the security who stopped Shah Rukh Khan. He said Shah Rukh didn't have a valid visitor's pass... I don't think there is any controversy or issue," he said.
He said the ICC rules are to ensure that bookies don't enter the dressing room.
"When these rules were framed, the concept of franchisee owners' domestic tournament didn't even come, the law was not framed to stop people like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta [Images], Mukesh Ambani or Vijay Mallya [Images] from walking into the dressing room," he said.
"According to even ICC regulations, there is a system of visitor's pass, the manager and team management sign it. The person can be allowed in the dressing room as long as it is signed by them. So there is no way to stop Shah Rukh from entering the dressing room," Bhattacharya added.
The ICC [Images] said the IPL is a domestic tournament and the game's governing body does not have any role in formulating the rules.
"The reported incident has nothing to do with the ICC as IPL is a domestic tournament which is being held under the Rules and Regulations of the BCCI," an ICC spokesman said from Dubai.
*
IPL salary cap should stay, says Ponting
"Furthermore, the ICC Board in its meeting held in Dubai on 17-18 March had decided that IPL will introduce a code of conduct, an anti-corruption code and an anti-doping code that complies with ICC regulations," he said.
Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh Khan had on Sunday night claimed he had been barred by the ICC anti-corruption unit from going to the team dug out and dressing room for the remaining IPL matches.
"I like to hang around with the boys. I am very energetic. I am very disappointed that the ICC has stopped me," he said.
"I don't know the ICC rules. I'll tell only one thing: Nobody dare stop me from coming to Kolkata. I'll be here whenever my team plays a match at the Eden," Khan said.
Asked whether Shah Rukh needed an accreditation for the IPL matches, the ICC spokesman said, "Everybody needs an accreditation and these are in line with the anti-corruption code. BCCI is following the anti-corruption code. Now I don't know what modifications they have made to the code."
Knight Riders CEO Joy Bhattacharya played down the incident and said Shah Rukh was actually stopped by security personnel for not carrying a visitors' pass.
"Look there is nothing like that. It was a gentleman from the security who stopped Shah Rukh Khan. He said Shah Rukh didn't have a valid visitor's pass... I don't think there is any controversy or issue," he said.
He said the ICC rules are to ensure that bookies don't enter the dressing room.
"When these rules were framed, the concept of franchisee owners' domestic tournament didn't even come, the law was not framed to stop people like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta [Images], Mukesh Ambani or Vijay Mallya [Images] from walking into the dressing room," he said.
"According to even ICC regulations, there is a system of visitor's pass, the manager and team management sign it. The person can be allowed in the dressing room as long as it is signed by them. So there is no way to stop Shah Rukh from entering the dressing room," Bhattacharya added.
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