Tamil Nadu cricketer Shahrukh Khan has spent much of his career carrying a name instantly recognisable across India, but despite the obvious connection to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the Tamil Nadu batter has a different celebrity at the top of his wish list.
If he could choose, the Tamil Nadu player would rather meet Salman Khan than his famous namesake. “I haven’t (met him) as yet. I haven’t met Shahrukh Khan as yet. But yeah, hope to meet him soon. We played quite a few matches against KKR. But I actually missed the opportunity to meet Shahrukh Khan. He obviously did not come for the game. If he would have come, obviously, I would have met him. “No, I will wait for his reaction first. So, I was named after him. So, I hope, I have heard that he has got an uncanny sense of humour. Obviously, I am good friends with Varun Chakravarthy. The most recent achievement was in the TNPL, where he guided Kovai Kings to their third championship. Shahrukh sees the TNPL’s significance extending beyond his personal achievements. He considers the tournament a crucial stepping stone for young cricketers in Tamil Nadu, having already facilitated several players’ progress to the IPL and other higher tiers of domestic cricket. “Yeah, TNPL has been a platform for a lot of players from Tamil Nadu including me, Natarajan, Varun Chakravarthy, a lot of players and the way the tournament has grown over the years is just immense. And not just TNPL but the other leagues that happen around India as well. “And every year, you see new talents coming up.
Because I was born after him. I hope even this year, the IPL scouts see a few talents and picks so that the tournament grows even bigger next year,” he added. The team beat Madurai Panthers by 84 runs in the final, making them only the second team in the tournament’s history to secure three titles.
Shahrukh, who recently led Kovai Kings to their third Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) title, said he has not yet met the Bollywood superstar he was named after. “I really wish to meet Salman Khan more than Shah Rukh,” the cricketer said in an exclusive conversation with IANS. But you know, I really wish to meet Salman Khan more than Shahrukh,” he said. And he said that he is a really wonderful person at heart .And waiting to see what sort of an uncanny sense of humour he has. And yeah, really excited to meet him,” he said. But the first domestic tournament for a state T20 was TNPL and very fortunate to be a part of this tournament,” he said.
