Star power that works on the cinema screens doesn’t necessarily work in the cricket arena. It’s anybody’s guess why the cricket fans in Kolkata kept away from the recent Kolkata Knight Riders IPL match held at Eden Gardens. Even though the star owner of the team, Shah Rukh Khan, was present at the match and the after match press conference, Dada (Sourav Ganguly), wasn’t a part of the team or the match at all. And for that reason itself, many cricket fans in Kolkata kept away from the match!
Sensing their problem, Shah Rukh Khan confessed that Dada was an integral part of the team and that he was welcome to be a part of all the KKR matches. But this statement of his is seen in contrast to last year, when after KKR’s defeat at IPL 3, SRK had said that “one team-member cannot be given more importance than the team”. The team-owner had later sacked Sourav Ganguly from his team.
What Shah Rukh did not know at that point in time, perhaps, is the fact that Kolkata’s cricket fans would pull their support for the team! No wonder, after a match that saw just about 30% of the stadium’s 60,000 seats occupied, the management has decided to slash ticket rates. To see who wins this war, we will have to wait and see…
