Bollywood superstar and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan extended his best wishes to the team ahead of their IPL 2025 opening match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Advertisment

In a video shared by KKR’s official Instagram handle, SRK was seen personally greeting each player in the dressing room. He warmly embraced them and said, “God bless you. Please be healthy, be happy. And thank you, Chandu sir, for looking after them. Welcome aboard to the new members. Thank you, Ajinkya, for joining us and being a captain. God bless you, and I hope you will find a good home here and play well with all of us. Have a good evening, a good match, and be healthy.”

The post was captioned, "King Khan ka pyaar, Knights ke naam. Shahrukh Khan | #AmiKKR | #TATAIPL2025 | #KKRvRCB."

Also Read: IPL 2025 | Here's what IPL chairman said about cash-rich league happening in Saudi Arabia

Advertisment

See the video here:

Advertisment

SRK arrived in Kolkata on Friday (March 21) evening to attend the grand IPL 2025 opening ceremony at Eden Gardens. Dressed in a white T-shirt and denim jeans, he made a stylish entrance, greeting his fans at the airport with waves and flying kisses.

The match between KKR and RCB revives memories of the IPL 2008 opener, where Brendon McCullum’s historic 158-run knock set the tournament alight. Both teams enter IPL 2025 with new captains—Ajinkya Rahane leading KKR and Rajat Patidar at the helm for RCB.

Spin bowling is expected to play a key role, with KKR boasting experienced spinners like Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, supported by Moeen Ali and Anukul Roy. RCB counters with Krunal Pandya leading their spin attack, alongside Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, and former KKR player Suyash Sharma.

Both teams also feature explosive batting line-ups. RCB’s squad includes Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, and Jitesh Sharma. KKR, on the other hand, has Quinton de Kock, Rinku Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, and Venkatesh Iyer in their ranks.

Squads:
KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer (vc), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mayank Markande, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Manish Pandey, Luvnith Sisodia (wk), Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya, Spencer Johnson.

RCB: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Swastik Chikara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathee, Abhinandan Singh.

(With inputs from agencies)