I SAW IT.. AND I COULD RELATE TO IT...

Last week, a four part series on the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders premiered, “LIVING WITH KKR”. Given my love for the game, I made sure that I didn’t miss the show. The first episode itself made the one hour worth it. Some of the things they said, they being the KKR team, including Shahrukh Khan, were really emotional. Today’s post is based on that very emotion, those feelings, which somehow, we all experience, and not just Shahrukh Khan. 

During the show, SRK talked about how they were showered with love and joy when his team (Red Chillies) decided to buy the Kolkata franchise in the IPL. Some Bengalis said that because Shahrukh Khan decided to base his team in Kolkata, they felt honoured.
 “A star like him could have chosen any team, but he chose Kolkata. That meant a lot to us..” were the exact words of one such person. As we all saw, KKR made an emphatic IPL debut, winning by 140 runs against RCB. They followed it up with another victory against Deccan Chargers but then began faltering, losing to Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. They were scheduled to play Mumbai Indians next in Mumbai. 

The KKR Director confessed on the show that Shahrukh dearly wanted to win in Mumbai, because that’s where he lived, that’s where he was the KING OF BOLLYWOOD. While he was expecting a good show from his team, there was one thing he hadn’t anticipated, that he would be booed at Wankhede stadium. The same people who so loved his films were now against him, because they believed that Mumbai made Shahrukh the star that he is today, Mumbai is the place where he works and earns his loving, and now he was bringing a team from OUTSIDE to beat the Mumbai team in Mumbai. HOW COULD HE? To make matters worse, KKR folded up for a paltry 67 in the match, the lowest score in the IPL then.  

Being booed is never  a good feeling. Sachin Tendulkar too, was booed at his home ground, the Wankhede, when he got out for just 1 against England in a test match in 2006. He too must have felt what wrong had he done that the very people he treated as a family were now against him. 

I mentioned above that there are feelings which not only SRK experienced, but sometimes we do as well. This is the feeling I’m talking about, the realization that people change. The ones who once admired you, could turn up against you, for no fault of yours. Personally, for me, the 12 years I spent in school taught me a lot in this regard. I experienced moments when the very persons I considered my friends somehow found reasons to hate me, there were misunderstandings, and at times, I had no idea what wrong had I done. People change, or rather, your equation with them changes. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. 

Going back to the show now, KKR owner Jay Mehta said that the 5-6 weeks they spent in South Africa for the 2^nd IPL were some of the worst days of his life. The team was losing, every move, every decision, every player they chose... just went wrong. He said that he felt lonely during those days. To quote him:

“Everybody left. They said they would come back after finishing their work India in about 10 days, but no one came, neither Shahrukh, nor Juhi. As a team owner, I was alone.” 

SRK too agreed to this. He said that when he left his team in South Africa, he felt like he had abandoned his child. That he had let his children down. The KKR director further emphasized that when they went to the hotel lobby for drinks with other teams, he noticed a look in others’ eyes one so dreads, the look of sympathy! 

KKR faltered again the next season. People, including cricket legends told Shahrukh that he didn’t know how to manage a team. There were times, when the KKR management themselves doubted their abilities. Just like how we sometimes doubt ourselves when the going gets tough. There have been times when I too doubted myself. Those times were never good. 

But..
KKR bounced back.
Sachin Tendulkar bounced back.
I bounced back.
We all do.
But HOW?

More on that next week , stay tuned... I’m not done yet.

Until next time..
Take care :)