Calcutta: “It’s the best combination... Shah Rukh (Khan) being the owner, Sourav (Ganguly) the captain and John (Buchanan) the coach... Add the other members of the support staff... It just can’t get better,” is what the Kolkata Knight Riders’ Shoaib Ahktar told The Telegraph in the lead-up to Sunday’s IPL face-off against the Chennai Super Kings.
The following are excerpts from the one-on-one
Views on owner Shah Rukh Khan
He’s like an elder brother... Fantastic, very supportive... Generous... I think I first met him in 2003... We’ve got along well with each other... He’s genuinely fond of me and, nowadays, is even advising what I should be telling the media... He’s guiding me, yes... Shah Rukh felt the pain too when I went through hell in recent months... As an elder brother, he’s entitled to get angry with me and he has on a few occasions... He’s the owner of the Knight Riders, but is so comfortable with the players... I don’t know how many owners would vibe the same way... Shah Rukh’s an excellent motivator ... Like millions, I’ve been a fan of his... The first movie of his I saw was Darr and I thought his performance was outstanding... The kind of energy level he possesses and the passion which he brings to everything is amazing... I’d say he’s a perfect role model.
Sourav Ganguly as captain
(Smiles) I’ve always regarded him as a great captain... Certainly India’s finest... The thing about Sourav is that he handles players very well... He manages them very well... For example, look at the way he handled me in my comeback match (at any level), at the Eden, last week... He kept talking to me... Kept encouraging me... Sourav made me feel comfortable, which was very important... He gave me the confidence to do well, something not seen from all captains nowadays... I think it’s important for a captain to give that ‘you-can-do-it’ feeling... No matter how good a bowler is, he still needs that dose of confidence from his captain... Looks forward to getting it... The first time we met as captain and player here, he emphasised he had complete faith in me... As for myself, I promised that I wouldn’t let him down... That I really appreciated the faith he had in me... In fact, in the Pakistan dressing room, we always regarded Sourav as an outstanding captain... Somebody very positive, not one to sit back and wait for things to happen.
Thoughts on coach John Buchanan
I can understand why he didn’t want to rush my Knight Riders’ debut... I was itching to play, but I understood his concern... He didn’t want me to get injured... Wanted me to first get acclimatised... John has made the dressing room atmosphere fantastic... Obviously, he’s very knowledgeable and, from my side, I’ve said he should let me know if there’s something he needs to communicate... I’d rather that the coach talks to me instead of harbouring reservations... It’s always good to have a two-way channel of communication. It’s nice working with John.