Pat Cummins said he had no idea who Shah Rukh was when he first joined KKR, but during his first meeting, he got to know the aura around him.
Australia captain Pat Cummins walked down memory lane to recall his first meeting with Bollywood superstar and KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan during his association with the three-time champions. Cummins started his IPL career with KKR in 2014, when he first witnessed Shahrukh’s aura as the co-owner of the franchise often visits the stadium to cheer for his side in the cash-rich league. Despite facing several ups and downs in IPL, SRK is regarded as one of the best owners in the league.
Shah Rukh Khan meeting Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins after an IPL match.(X Image)
Cummins was quite young when he entered the IPL, and was also trying to make a mark and grab the attention of the Australian selectors. However, years later, he took over the captaincy charge of an IPL franchise and the Australian team.
The right-arm pacer said he had no idea who Shah Rukh was when he first joined KKR, but during his first meeting, he got to know the aura around him after witnessing the young players’ behaviour with him.
“This is going to get me in trouble, but the first time I ever met Shah Rukh Khan, I had no idea who he was. I think I was 18 or 19 years old, I had never watched a Bollywood film. I met him and said this guy is cool, he’s got a real aura around him, he had a few big security guards. And it was more seeing the other young Indian players so shy with him around and I was like this guy must be pretty special, always very funny, very cute,” Cummins said.
‘You couldn’t have asked for a better owner than SRK’: Cummins
After completing his first stint with KKR in 2015, he rejoined the franchise in 2020 for INR 15.5 crore and stayed there for three more seasons.
Cummins also asserted that SRK is one of the best owners one could ask for, as he only asks his players to enjoy and play with freedom.
“In terms of a leader and the owner of the team, you couldn’t have asked for a better one. He would only ask us players to enjoy ourselves, to play with freedom. Lots of other owners have a lot of pressure upon themselves, to him just to try and take away all the pressure is great,” he concluded.
