Home side Kolkata Knight Riders are set to receive a big boost in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 clash against the Royal Challengers Bangalore with franchise owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan set to attend the clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday night. The ‘Pathaan’ star will be attending his first IPL match at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium after a gap of almost 4 years.
Last time Shah Rukh Khan was seen at the Eden Gardens was back on April 28, 2019 – KKR’s final league game against the Mumbai Indians. According to ‘The Telegraph’ newspaper report, SRK will arrive in Kolkata on the day of the match itself. A host of other Bollywood celebrities apart from his son Aryan Khan and daughter Suhana Khan are expected to accompany SRK for the match, according to the report.
KKR owner had cheered his side to a win over Rohit Sharma’s MI by 34 runs – ending a six-match losing streak – in his last appearance at the Eden Gardens. The two-time IPL champions will need some boost from their team owner this time around as well after losing their opening IPL 2023 by 7 runs (DLS method) to the Punjab Kings in Mohali last week.
The Knight Riders have been dogged with injuries with regular skipper Shreyas Iyer ruled out and replaced at the helm by Nitish Rana. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan, signed up by KKR for Rs 1.5 crore this season, has also pulled out of the league.
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KKR announced Jason Roy as the replacement for injured Shreyas Iyer, but the Englishman is unlikely to join the squad before their next match against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.
However, new KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit firmly backed his side to do well against RCB, who will feature an in-form Virat Kohli. “I would not say that experience is lacking. Every individual has created an impact in the domestic and international level. They are all reputed cricketers,” Pandit said ahead of the match.
“I believe each and every player is capable of playing well. We are not depending on someone. Whatever squad we have, each one of them good enough to give a good impact,” he added.
KKR lost to Punjab Kings by seven runs via DLS Method but Pandit picked the positives and said they were in the game till the last over despite losing wickets at regular intervals. “One cannot be judgmental after just in first game. Looking at the last game, we were in game till last over. That was unfortunate to lose. I’m pretty confident of the side we have,” Pandit concluded.
