Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have endured a horrid start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season after losing their opening two matches. Nothing has gone right for the three-time champions so far, and on Monday, the franchise began the fixture against the Punjab Kings on a poor note after losing Finn Allen and Cameron Green cheaply after opting to bat at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Under overcast skies, KKR’s decision to bat first raised a few eyebrows, and it was criticised by pundits such as Kevin Pietersen, Anil Kumble, Saba Karim and Ravichandran Ashwin.
As expected, rain played spoilsport in the fixture, and the first break came after 3.4 overs with KKR reeling at 25/2 with skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi at the crease. During the break, the broadcast cameras captured KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan having an intense chat with the team’s CEO, Venky Mysore.
While it is not known what the chat was all about, it seemed intense from afar. Mysore was nodding as the Bollywood superstar made his points. There was some hand gesturing as well from the Badshah of Bollywood as well. This was SRK’s first time attending an IPL 2026 KKR game.
Shah Rukh Khan attended the KKR-Punjab Kings game along with his manager, Pooja Dadlani, and daughter, Suhana Khan. During the rain break, the cameras constantly focused on SRK as he kept chatting with Venky Mysore, with Suhana observing from close quarters.
“Looks like they are having a similar conversation. The Badshah of Bollywood, the owner of KKR. An intense chat with KKR CEO Venky Mysore,” said the host during the rain break show.
KKR’s horror show
For the match against the Punjab Kings, KKR made a few changes as both Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy were unavailable. The franchise brought in Rovman Powell and Navdeep Saini into the playing XI. On the other hand, the Punjab Kings did not make a single change to their lineup from their previous match.
KKR began their IPL 2026 season with a loss to the Mumbai Indians, and then suffered another loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. The entire campaign in the 19th edition of the tournament has been centred around when Cameron Green will bowl for KKR.
Green, the Australian all-rounder, was picked up for INR 25.20 crore in the auction, but he has yet to bowl so far in the competition. The official clearance from Cricket Australia is awaited as Green is managing his workload.
However, Green has been bowling in the nets and the KKR think tank management have maintained that the 26-year-old will start bowling soon for the franchise.
