Abandoning the Sinking Ship

By Gulu Ezekiel

The reported move by Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan to sell his stake in the team is a dramatic barometer of the manner in which the fortunes of the team have plummeted.
Though they finished a disappointing six out of eight in IPL’s inaugural season last year, KKR was by all accounts the most popular team in the league with a pan-Indian appeal.
The reason was obvious. Khan is the biggest star of Hindi cinema, the so-called ‘Badshah of Bollywood’. In fact KKR were the only franchise to not only break even but in fact make a profit in the very first year.
Khan proudly proclaimed the highest selling T-shirt in the IPL was the one with ‘SRK 12’ in the KKR colours emblazoned on it.
With the largest stadium in the country at their disposal (Eden Gardens at 100,000-plus) and the most passionate fans as well—plus of course the presence of the beloved Sourav ‘Dada’ Ganguly at the helm—KKR had everything going for them. But for the rain and a couple of cruelly close finishes, they could well have made it to the semis and even further.
Now KKR are currently at the bottom of the points table and what is worse, they have suffered one PR disaster after another, starting with the hare-brained ‘joint captaincy’ scheme of coach John Buchanan.
The decision just 24 hours before their first game to replace Ganguly as captain with New Zealand wicket-keeper/batsman Brendon McCullum has proved disastrous both to the team and the player.
Khan has now come home to India both to vote and dance at weddings (at a reported fee of Rs. 2 crore a pop).
But for a man who made a fetish of his loyalty to his team (“they are like my children), Khan’s statement that he will not return to South Africa till the team starts winning, must be the last straw for a side that has currently everything going against them.
It is like the rats abandoning a sinking ship. Pity KKR.

www.sportshero.com (1/5/09)