New Delhi: Ahead of Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2025 opening match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru Saturday, superstar Shah Rukh Khan delivered a pep talk to his cricket team, asking them to be “healthy and happy”.
The 18th Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders taking on perennial underachievers Royal Challengers Bengaluru amid a looming threat of rain.
The official Instagram page of Kolkata Knight Riders shared the video of SRK talking to the team members, which is led by new skipper Ajinkya Rahane this season.
“God bless you. Please be healthy, be happy,” the 59-year-old superstar said, also thanking coach Chandrakant Pandit for looking after the team.
“Welcome aboard to the new members. Thank you Ajinkya for joining us and being our captain. God bless you and I hope you will find a good home here and play well with all of us. God bless you all. Have a good evening. A good match and be healthy all of you,” SRK further said.
Shah Rukh co-owns the KKR team with the actor Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta.
Rajat Patidar is leading the RCB team that features mega-star Virat Kohli.
The match has a 7.30pm start, with the toss scheduled for 7pm. A glittering opening ceremony featuring Shreya Ghoshal and Disha Patani among others is planned at 6pm.
