Today, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is among the most successful and followed sports leagues in the world. However, the tournament was still an idea taking shape in the mid-2000s, when its creator Lalit Modi he knew that cricket alone would not be enough to make him a mass entertainment phenomenon. IPL also attracted viewers due to celebrities participating in it. In the meantime Shah Rukh Khan He stepped up to buy the Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta owns the Punjab team. At that time, Shilpa Shetty also joined the Rajasthan Royals team. In a recent interview, Lalit Modi explained the start of the league and how he convinced him SRK upgrade to buy a team. Modi said the star was hesitant to make such a huge financial investment. Here’s how it all fell into place. The former IPL president and BCCI vice-president recalled how he convinced Shah Rukh Khan to own the franchise, a move that eventually led to the formation of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).According to Modi, the idea of taking Bollywood to cricket took hold after seeing the overwhelming reaction Shah Rukh received in an international match in Jaipur. “I took Shah Rukh to a match in Rajasthan when I was BCCI vice-president. It was the first international match ever played in Jaipur. This was before the IPL, I think a year before. I saw the crowd was absolutely hysterical when he arrived. It became the highlight of the match,” he said in an interview with Humans Of Bombay. The experience convinced Modi that mixing cricket and entertainment could create something unprecedented in Indian sports. Explaining the vision behind the IPL, Modi said he had already maximized the traditional cricket advertising ecosystem through the BCCI. The next challenge was to attract viewers and advertisers who were spending their evenings watching TV dramas and Bollywood-centric programming.“In India, two things sell: cricket and Bollywood. I had already brought money related to the world of cricket and advertisers for BCCI. The rest of the TV advertising went to the world of saas-bahu and the programming was centered around Bollywood. A big part of the strategy, he said, was securing a competitive prime-time TV slot.“For the IPL to be successful, I needed that 8pm time slot. I was going head-to-head with some of the biggest TV shows in the country. Cricket was never a late-night product. The T20 world cup was also the product of the day. I was taking a big risk by creating a prime time night event.’ To make the concept attractive beyond die-hard cricket followers, Modi felt that celebrity franchise owners were essential. Then Shah Rukh Khan emerged as the ideal candidate.“Who better than Shah Rukh Khan to own a team? The funny thing was that Shah Rukh didn’t like cricket and didn’t really understand cricket. He is a football fan. When I told him I wanted to buy a team, he was scared. He said, ‘I don’t understand cricket.’ I told him to leave it to me and I would make sure that the right teams and systems were put in place.’ While Shah Rukh was intrigued by the idea, he was also worried about the financial commitment involved. “He asked me, ‘If I win a team, how much will it cost?’ I told him that the payment would be 20 million. He replied, ‘But that’s a big part of my savings account.'”Modi then revealed how a sponsorship deal with a mobile phone company helped ease those concerns.“There was a mobile company that made phones. They wanted Shah Rukh to be their brand ambassador, but he wasn’t interested. I couldn’t get involved in his endorsement business. So I asked a mobile company, if Shah Rukh won a team, would they sponsor the front of the jerseys? I asked Shah Rukh that I would pay $5 for the cap and T-shirt. I asked him a million advance. They said yes.”According to Modi, the deal was beneficial for all involved.“It was a win for a mobile company if Shah Rukh owned a team. It was a win for Shah Rukh if a mobile company became the front shirt sponsor. Basically, he bought it for free.” He also claimed that the entire process went at a remarkable speed.“Shah Rukh put up the money and a mobile company backed it up. At 12 noon, Shah Rukh wrote a cheque. In the afternoon, a mobile company wrote another check to back the KKR consortium. That was very well placed.” KKR, co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan, along with actor Juhi Chawla and businessman Jay Mehta, has become one of the most successful and popular franchises in the IPL. The team has won several IPL championships and remains one of the most valuable brands in the league, with a fan base that extends beyond India.
