Shah Rukh Khan said Rs 20 crore was a huge investment, so was hesistant to buy KKR at IPL, says Lalit Modi: ‘Mobile company sponsored, gave $5 million advance’

Today, the Indian Premier League (IPL) stands among the most lucrative and widely followed sporting leagues in the world. However, when the tournament was still an idea taking shape in the mid-2000s, its creator Lalit Modi knew that cricket alone would not be enough to transform it into a mass entertainment phenomenon. IPL also attracted the audience due to the celebrity involvement in it. While Shah Rukh Khan came on board to buy Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta own the Punjab team. At that point, Shilpa Shetty also came on board for Rajasthan Royals. Ina recent interview, Lalit Modi opened up on the beginning of the league and how he convinced SRK to come on board to buy a team. Modi said that the star was hesistant to make that big financial investment. Here’s how everything fell into place. The former IPL chairman and BCCI vice-president recalled how he persuaded Shah Rukh Khan to become a franchise owner, a move that eventually led to the creation of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).According to Modi, the idea of bringing Bollywood into cricket gained momentum after he witnessed the overwhelming reaction Shah Rukh received during an international match in Jaipur. “I took Shah Rukh to a game 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 about a year earlier. I saw the crowds go absolutely hysterical when he arrived. He became the highlight of the match,” he said in an interview with Humans Of Bombay. The experience convinced Modi that a blend of 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 audiences and advertisers who were spending their evenings watching television dramas and Bollywood-centric programming.“In India, two things sell — cricket and Bollywood. I had already brought in the money associated with the cricketing world and advertisers for BCCI. The rest of television advertising was going into the saas-bahu world and programming centred around Bollywood.” A major part of the strategy, he said, revolved around securing the highly competitive prime-time television slot.“To make the IPL successful, I needed that 8 pm time slot. I was going head-to-head with some of the biggest television shows in the country. Cricket had never really been a night-time product. Even T20 world cup was also a daytime product. I was taking a huge risk by creating a prime-time night event.” To make the concept appealing beyond hardcore cricket followers, Modi believed celebrity franchise owners were essential. That is when 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 him to buy a team, he was apprehensive. He said, ‘I don’t understand cricket.’ I told him to leave that to me and that I would ensure the right team and system were put in place.” While Shah Rukh was intrigued by the idea, he was also concerned about the financial commitment involved. “He asked me, ‘If I happen to win a team, how much is it going to cost?’ I told him the down payment would be Rs 20 crore. He replied, ‘But that’s a big part of my savings account.’”Modi then revealed how a sponsorship arrangement with a mobile company helped ease those concerns.“There was a company called a mobile company that made handsets. They were desperate to have Shah Rukh as their brand ambassador, but he wasn’t interested. I couldn’t interfere in his endorsement business. So I asked a mobile company, if Shah Rukh were to win a team, would they sponsor the front of the jersey? I told them I could guarantee Shah Rukh would wear their shirts and caps, and asked if they would pay a $5 million advance. They said yes.”According to Modi, the arrangement proved beneficial for everyone involved.“It was a win-win for a mobile company if Shah Rukh owned a team. It was a win-win for Shah Rukh if a mobile company became the front-shirt sponsor. He basically bought it for free.” He further claimed that the entire process moved at remarkable speed.“Shah Rukh put in the money and a mobile company backed it up. At 12 o’clock, Shah Rukh wrote a cheque. By the evening, a mobile company wrote another cheque to sponsor the KKR consortium. That fell into place very well.” KKR, which is co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan along with actress Juhi Chawla and businessman Jay Mehta, has since grown into one of the IPL’s most successful and recognizable franchises. The team has won multiple IPL championships and remains one of the league’s most valuable brands, with a fan base that extends far beyond India.