Shahrukh padding up for IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) arrives on Friday, April 8 and team owners along with all other stakeholders are eagerly hoping for the cricket fever to continue through the tournament. Shah Rukh Khan, whose team Kolkata Knight Riders plays the inaugural match against defending champions Chennai Super Kings, has decided to take it easy on his team and put the onus of team building on the coaches. “This year, we worked on our weaknesses and have procured talented domestic players like Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan in our squad along with world-class international players like Brett Lee and Jacques Kallis. The team has a nice balance and the coaches (Dav Whatmore and Wasim Akram) are working on the team’s strategy. My role will be to support my team as always, but the technical details will be handled by them. After all that has happened in the past three years, I hope we come out victorious at the end of the tournament,” Shah Rukh said. Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta’s publicist said the actress was out of town and unwilling to comment for this story. Shilpa Shetty said, “We have our own plans but we won’t be revealing it at this juncture. We are just very happy that we are a part of the IPL and we will give our best shot. There are no legal issues now and we are determined to do our best. I will be cheering for my team for most of the home matches.” The actress left for Jaipur on Tuesday to unveil the team’s new kit.