Kolkata, May 15: The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) party kicked off with some serious discussions, gloomy faces, looking at each other and trying to find out the reason behind the loss against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Eden Gardens in the last league match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017.

IPL Special Site; Play-offs schedule; Photos

In spite of having secured a berth in IPL play-offs, KKR will have to play the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and if they lose they will be out of the competition.

The party was called upon to mark the 10th year celebration of the team. The chief guest was the owner himself, Shah Rukh Khan. It was not difficult, for the owner could guess his cricketers' frustration once he entered the dining hall at city's premier hotel on Sunday (May 14) afternoon.

Shah Rukh did not waste time. In a bid to inspire the players and bring their spirit back before the team plays in the all-important Eliminator, the Bollywood actor asked other management staff to show them the movie, "Chak de India".

One of the team members informed on condition of anonymity, "While the cricketers were watching the movie, Shah Rukh spoke to captain Gautam Gambhir and boosted him saying that everybody should forget the defeat against Mumbai Indians and reset their focus on the Eliminator."

It also has been learnt that "King Khan" has spoken to the young cricketers of the franchise separately like Kuldeep Yadav, Manish Pandey and encouraged them by telling them his own story.

One of the cricketers revealed, "Shah Rukh Bhai told us about his own story on how he had shrugged off crises and performed in a great manner. We all were excited to have watched Bollywood star's down-to-earth attitude and inspirational messages."

Incidentally, one of the fans of Shah Rukh in Kolkata, Aradhana Dalmiya presented the KKR owner a painting. She had drawn the painting of Shah Rukh and his son Abram and "King Khan" was moved by the presentation.

He said, "This is the reason I come to Kolkata and will be coming to the City of Joy again."

OneIndia News