Throwback: When Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly went through a 'Divorce' over KKR; Here's what happened

IPL 2025: The 18th edition of Indian Premier League is round the corner. The first match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is scheduled for Saturday, 22nd March 2025. Here's a throwback story regarding IPL's 3rd most successful franchise

Shah Rukh Khan's team Kolkata Knight Riders is the third most successful team in IPL history after Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). During the early days of IPL, KKR was helmed by none other than Sourav Ganguly. However, the team owner Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly hardly saw eye to eye and their friendship faded. Shah Rukh Khan called it a 'Divorce' where things don’t work out between two individuals and they have to move on.

The constant losses affected the relationship between Shah Rukh Khan and Sourav Ganguly. Cricket commentator Gautam Bhattacharya pointed out that both were strong-willed, self-made individuals who initially stood united but eventually grew apart. By the end of the tournament, their communication had significantly reduced, and their friendship had faded. 

Shah Rukh Khan admitted that the team’s format did not align well with its star players, leading to major restructuring. Since they were not retaining Ganguly as captain, the management decided to put the entire team back into the IPL pool as a mark of respect for his contributions. He compared the situation to a separation, stating that sometimes things do not work out, and it is best to part ways for the benefit of both parties.

They even dropped Sourav Ganguly as the captain. In the 4th edition they managed to come 4th and won their first trophy next year during the 5th edition in 2012 under Gautam Gambhir's captaincy. 

The re-structuring brought good days for KKR and today Kolkata Knight Riders stands as one the most successful teams after CSK and MI.

KKR will play RCB in the first match of IPL 2025 at Eden Gardens.