Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 22 : Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan extended his best wishes to the team ahead of their opening match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
In a video shared by KKR's official Instagram handle, Shah Rukh Khan was seen greeting each player individually in the dressing room.
He embraced them warmly and said, "God bless you. Please be healthy, be happy. And thank you, Chandu sir, for looking after them. Welcome aboard to the new members. Thank you, Ajinkya, for joining us and being a captain. God bless you, and I hope you will find a good home here and play well with all of us. Have a good evening, a good match, and be healthy."
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Kolkata Knight Riders (@kkriders)
The post was captioned, "King Khan ka pyaar, Knights ke naam, Shahrukh Khan | #AmiKKR | #TATAIPL2025 | #KKRvRCB."
On Friday evening, Shah Rukh Khan landed in Kolkata to attend the grand opening ceremony of IPL 2025 at Eden Gardens.
Dressed in a white T-shirt paired with denim jeans, the actor made a stylish entrance. He also greeted his fans at the airport, waving and blowing kisses, much to their delight.
KKR's opening match against RCB has revived memories of the inaugural IPL game in 2008 when Brendon McCullum played a historic knock of 158 runs for KKR against the same opponent.
Both teams enter the season with a change in leadership. Ajinkya Rahane has taken over as KKR's captain, while Rajat Patidar leads RCB. RCB is eager to break its four-match losing streak against KKR.
Spin bowling is expected to be a key factor in the game. KKR boasts an experienced spin attack featuring Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, supported by Moeen Ali and Anukul Roy.
On the other hand, RCB's spin department is led by Krunal Pandya, with assistance from Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and young spinner Suyash Sharma, who previously played for KKR in 2023.
The batting line-ups of both teams also promise an exciting contest. RCB's explosive batting unit includes Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, and Jitesh Sharma.
Meanwhile, KKR's batting order features Quinton de Kock, Rinku Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, and Venkatesh Iyer.
KKR Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer (vc), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mayank Markande, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia (wk), Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya, Spencer Johnson.
RCB Squad: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.
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