For Vivek Jain, chairman of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) Ltd, the news of as many as three horses involved in the first two Classics testing positive for a banned substance couldn't have come at a worse time. No wonder Vivek, a marketeer, is a very depressed man
KKRu00a0owner and bollywood iconu00a0justifies team sans Ganguly; stresses that city deserves a trophy after three barren years
Kolkata Knight Riders' owner Shah Rukh Khan played a combined game of attack and defence in his quest to calm the air after his franchise did not bid for Sourav Ganguly in the player auction held over the weekend at Bangalore.
Shah Rukh was at the India vs South Africa Twenty20 international game here and witnessed the celebrations to commemorate 150 years of the arrival of Indians in South Africa.
Asked whether he and his team would enjoy the support of Kolkata fans without Ganguly figuring in KKR ranks, the Bollywood icon said: "Dada told me that we have to change the whole team when we kept on losing. We've done just that. Ultimately, we have to give Kolkata a trophy. We have played the IPL for three years, but have not been able to do that."u00a0 Ganguly suffered humiliation on Day One of the player auction when none of the 10 franchises bid for him. There was talk that some team would pick him on Day Two, but there were no takers. "I will call up Sourav tomorrow and find out if he can join us in any capacity. I love Dada and we developed a good relationship over the years starting from the 1999 World Cup.
"It's a new team, a new set-up. Decisions are taken by a lot of people including coach Dav Whatmore," said Shah Rukh.
He indicated that Twenty20 cricket needed younger legs: "Remember, when we sign players, we have to carry them for three years."
Formidable
The team which his think-tank picked at the auction, has his approval. "It is a very good side. Jacques Kallis is my favourite cricketer; Gautam Gambhir is the in-form batsman and Yusuf Pathan is a clear match-winner. We gave a lot of thought as to how we will go about strategising at the auction and I am hopeful this team will do well," said Shah Rukh. It has been a busy time for the screen legend. He was shooting till 10 pm on Saturday night before arriving here from Johannesburg yesterday afternoon. "I just love South Africa. Each time I come here, I have a lot of fun," he said.u00a0
