Lalit Modi reveals how a hesitant Shah Rukh Khan was persuaded to buy Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008, helping create one of the IPL's most iconic franchises.

The story of how the Kolkata Knight Riders came into existence has become part of IPL folklore. But according to former IPL chairman Lalit Modi, the franchise almost never happened because its eventual owner, Shah Rukh Khan, neither liked cricket nor understood it.

Speaking to Humans of Bombay, Modi recounted how he convinced the Bollywood superstar to take the plunge during the formative days of the Indian Premier League in 2008.

For Modi, the IPL was never just about cricket. He understood early that if the tournament was to become a prime-time television spectacle, it needed Bollywood's star power alongside cricket's appeal.

'In India, two things sell, cricket and Bollywood. I had already brought in the money associated with the cricketing world and advertisers for BCCI. The rest of television advertising was going into the saas-bahu world and programming centred around Bollywood.'

'To make the IPL successful, I needed that 8 pm time slot. I was going head-to-head with some of the biggest television shows in the country. Cricket had never really been a nighttime product. Even T20 World Cup was also a daytime product. I was taking a huge risk by creating a prime-time night event.'

His solution was simple: bring in celebrity franchise owners who could attract audiences beyond traditional cricket followers.

The first person on his list was Shah Rukh Khan.

What followed, Modi revealed, was far from a straightforward sales pitch.

'Shah Rukh didn't like cricket, didn't understand cricket, and didn't know cricket. He's a football fan.'

When Modi approached him with the idea of owning an IPL franchise, Khan was far from convinced.

'When I said to him, 'I need you to buy a team and win a team,' he was a little apprehensive at first. He said, 'I don't understand anything about cricket'.'

'I said, 'Leave that to me. I will ensure that I put a team and a system in place for you if you happen to win it'.'

The next concern was financial.

'He asked, 'How much is it going to cost?' I said, 'The down payment is ₹20 crore or $5 million.' He said, 'But that's a big part of my savings account.' I said, 'Yes, I understand.'"

Modi knew convincing celebrity owners was only one part of the challenge. Making sure they did not lose money was equally important.

'So I had to worry about the owners making money and not losing money.'

An opportunity soon presented itself.

At the time, mobile handset giant Nokia was desperate to sign Shah Rukh Khan as a brand ambassador.

'There was a company called Nokia that made handsets. They were desperate to have Shah Rukh Khan as a brand ambassador for Nokia.'

The problem was that Khan had little interest in engaging with the company.

'Shah Rukh wasn't interested in talking to Nokia, and I couldn't interfere in his business. That's his personal endorsement business.'

Modi has often claimed that creative commercial arrangements eventually helped make franchise ownership financially viable, allowing IPL teams to attract influential investors despite the substantial upfront costs.

What began as a reluctant investment from a football-loving movie star eventually evolved into one of the IPL's most recognisable brands.

Eighteen years later, Kolkata Knight Riders remain among the league's most popular franchises, while Shah Rukh Khan's emotional connection with the team has become one of the defining images of the IPL era.