Punjab Kings’ six machine Khan keen to make his own mark after head coach Anil Kumble sees shades of big-hitting West Indian in their new recruit
Punjab Kings’ Shahrukh Khan with head coach Anil Kumble during a practice session recently
Every Indian Premier League (IPL) edition provides youngsters an opportunity to become a household name overnight. Such is the platform that every performance gets noticed and at times it’s the magic key to open the door to the Indian national team.
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One of the youngsters tipped to make it big in this IPL is M Shahrukh Khan, 25, who was bought by Punjab Kings for a whopping Rs 5.25 crore after two other franchises showed equal interest in having him. This Tamil Nadu big-hitting all-rounder, named after Bollywood superstar SRK, is eager to make a name for himself.
Punjab Kings coach Anil Kumble saw shades of West Indian T20 great Kieron Pollard in Shahrukh when it comes to those lusty blows. The comparison thrilled him, but the youngster is keen to make a mark for himself.
‘I want to keep it up’
“It’s a big statement. I am obviously happy that Anil sir sees shades of Pollard in me...it is great. But the more I think about it, the more pressure I will put on myself. I just have to go out there and do what I have been doing. I want to keep up my game. I want to do what I have been doing. I want to be Shahrukh, not Pollard,” the lanky 6ft, 6 inch batsman told Sunday mid-day on Saturday.
Punjab Kings get ready for their first match of IPL-14 when they take on Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.
The huge price tag has contributed to the hype around Shahrukh, whose power-hitting was central to Tamil Nadu winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title earlier this year. Shahrukh, batting in the lower middle-order, finished with the best average (88) and strike rate (220) in the four innings of the Mushtaq Ali T20 matches for Tamil Nadu.
Too much expectations
For his maiden IPL stint, Shahrukh has trusted the preparation that has helped him succeed so far. “My preparation has been normal. I don’t want to be someone different. Obviously, what I have been doing has given me success, so I would like to continue. Yes, there are a lot of expectations from me. All these things do play on my mind, but I am just trying to keep these thoughts away as much as possible. Going into the tournament, I am in good headspace,” he said.
Shahrukh thought the environment in an IPL team would be “very streamlined” but once he joined the Punjab Kings set-up, he found it very comfortable. “They just try to test you in different circumstances and tell you to do what you have been doing. That’s the most important thing for a player—to trust you and back your skills,” he said.
How Baazigar led to naming him after SRK
M Shahrukh Khan revealed the why his parents named him after the Bollywood superstar.
“I was born in 1995. My mom’s sister is a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan and Baazigar was a huge hit and because she was a huge SRK fan, so she forced my mother to name me Shahrukh.
“Khan was already our surname, so that’s how I was given this name,” Shahrukh said.
When he was bought by Punjab Kings during the auction, the team’s co-owner Preity Zinta was thrilled to have a ‘Shahrukh’ in her team. Veer-Zara memes flooded social media almost immediately. “It felt different. I have seen so many movies of her’s [Zinta]. I want to meet and talk to her,” said Shahrukh.
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