INTERVIEWS

We are the winners: Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders play their second match on Sunday and the superstar says “his team are the declared winners".

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said, "Being an actor I have always thought everything in larger-than-life perspective. Knight Riders' matches will also be no exception. Being a little tongue-in-cheek, at Eden Gardens, we will exhibit two helmets - an 18-carat gold-plated and a diamond studded one respectively to show the other teams that we are the declared winners. The matches are just child's play for us."

"I believe it's my duty to entertain people whether it's in films or in the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. Though I am not going to dance at the gallery, I will be present at Edens."

According to him, the match will surely be a star-studded affair.

"Rani (Mukerji), Bipasha (Basu) and Kareena (Kapoor) have verbally confirmed their presence. With Kareena nowadays we get a Saif Ali Khan for free. So Saif can also be expected. I personally will try to convince John (Abraham) and Karan (Johar) to fly down as well. I have personally invited Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to come and cheer for us at the Edens," Shah Rukh said.

King Khan is surely doing his bit, while the people Kolkata have already made their plans for the matches.

"We have arranged for a procession from Hatibagan in central Kolkata to the Eden Gardens. Twenty belly dancers will dance their way to the ground on a 16-wheeled container trailer," said Arnab Roy, joint secretary of the Shah Rukh Khan Fans Club.

Roy said this is the first time in the history of Edens that supporters will enter the grounds with drums and play them at the gallery.

"We will also decorate the gallery with Knight Riders flags, banners and festoons. Shah Rukh has promised to help us deck up the gallery," he added.

Fans and fan clubs of Sourav Ganguly, captain of the Knight Riders, and Shah Rukh have arranged mass screening of all the matches at select places across the city.

Golden-black billboards and posters of the 'Knights' - with their faces painted in gold - are evoking much excitement in all Kolkatans irrespective of age.

Ticket sales for the IPL matches began here Monday. And since then, there have been long queues outside the Cricket Association Of Bengal (CAB) ticket counters every day.

"All the tickets for the first two Knight Riders matches at Edens - on April 20 against Deccan Chargers, and April 29 against Mumbai Indians - are sold out. I am sure tickets for the other five matches will also sell like hot cake once Kolkatans get the taste of the first match at Edens," said CAB joint secretary Amitabha Bandopadhyay.

Out of the 14 matches of the Kolkata Knight Riders, seven will be played at the Eden Gardens ground here.

The first match of the IPL kicked off Friday with the Knight Riders emerging victorious over the Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Chinnasawmy Stadium in Bangalore.

As the team's slogan goes, its all about "Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo" (Do, Fight, Win) for the "King's Men".

ICC will have to adjust IPL in its calendar: Dhoni

International Cricket Council will have to adjust IPL in its cricket calendar otherwise it may force cricketers from many countries to opt for retirement, India's ODI captain MS Dhoni said on Sunday.

"They will need to take this decision otherwise we may have a situation where cricketers will prefer retirement," Dhoni said.

He was of the view that BCCI-backed IPL, which is currently holding its inaugural T20 tournament, will become an annual feature.

Dhoni, who is captaining the IPL team Chennai Super Kings and led them to convincing victory over Kings Punjab XI in Mohali on Saturday, felt that with so much money involved in the lucrative league, it would become difficult to stop players (from participating).

Outgoing CEO of ICC, Malcom Speed, said in Mumbai on Wednesday that there was no immediate need to carve out a slot for the IPL in the Future Tours Programme at the moment.

Speed had said the biggest challenge facing the game's administrators right now was how to integrate the T20 format with Tests and ODIs to ensure that none had to face the disinterest of the fans.

Dhoni saw nothing wrong in players making money by playing in the IPL, saying in some countries the players do not earn that big.

"A player has to think about his future too. They need money to maintain a decent lifestyle later in their lives," Dhoni said.

Asked if young cricketers were in the danger of losing their focus with so much money flowing into the game, Dhoni said, "Players know it very well that money will flow only if they do well in the game."

About his comments on how IPL had rolled out, 26 year old Dhoni said, "it's going to be a huge success".

Asked if crowds have started associating themselves with the teams, which have been named after different Indian cities, he said that it would take time before they strongly relate to them.

He, however, said it was great to have players from different nations sharing the same dressing room and felt it would only go a long way in strengthening the relationship.

With IPL offering a mix of Bollywood and cricket, Dhoni said, "In India they both go hand-in-hand."

When asked about a mammoth total of 240 posted by his team against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday and 222 being scored by Knight Riders a day prior to that, will the present tournament see 300 being scored in 20 overs?, Dhoni said "I think that will be difficult", though he went on to add that, "In cricket, you never know."

Dhoni may have cut his long locks that once attracted praise from Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, but that has not stopped Bollywood making a beeline and wanting him to sign a film.

"There are lots of offers, but I have declined all of them. There is no time for that right now," he said.

Dhoni despite enjoying success in his field which gave him instant popularity at young age is a down-to-earth person. He feels that the downside of being a celebrity in this country is that one constantly remains under the media spotlight.

"There is no privacy in life and media is constantly after you," says Dhoni, but despite that he manages to maintain a level head.