The former star opening batter of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Aakash Chopra, during a recent interview, has reflected on his experience of playing three years for the Kolkata Knight Riders at the start of the tournament. Chopra featured in six innings for the Knight Riders of the IPL, where he smashed 53 runs in six innings at an average of nine and a strike rate of 74.64. 

Chopra spoke about how passionately their owner, Shah Rukh Khan, had been involved in the process with the franchise. He reckoned that SRK was ‘emotionally invested and extremely involved’ in the franchise, as he also wanted to hire the best trainer, physio, and coaches for the side in the IPL. 

See Also: "Leave your ego..."- Sunil Gavaskar blasts at India's approach ahead of 2nd South Africa Test

“Sharukh is a sweetheart. I was there for three years, not much, but he used to run the franchise purely like a family. He was emotionally invested and extremely involved in the franchise, and that was the time when Venky Mysore wasn’t part of the side. When he bought the franchise, SRK said that he wanted the best coach, trainer, and physio of the world working for the KKR side.” Chopra expressed in a recent podcast.

Watch: Aakash Chopra calls Shah Rukh Khan ‘sweetheart’ in his involvement with KKR

Kolkata earned their maiden title of the IPL in 2012 when they beat the Chennai Super Kings before earning the same success two years later. Their recent trophy of the league came in 2024 when they beat the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final.

Aakash Chopra on KKR’s early days :

🎙️SRK was running the team like family. This was before Venky Mysore’s arrival, so things used to be run professionally. The day he bought the team, he said he wanted everything to be the best (Coach, Trainer etc)pic.twitter.com/TDHKZurDE8

— KKR Karavan (@KkrKaravan) November 19, 2025

“Selection of the support staff was only up to him, but he later realized that it wasn’t that straightforward. We finished in the sixth position in the first season and eighth in the following year. But SRK was absolutely brilliant. That time, his presence was incredible in the team. If there is a brand of watch, SRK would say that the watches would be given even to the wives.” Chopra addressed.

“There is a laptop brand, and he would tell everyone to be given a laptop, and he would tell it standing on the table. That was the early part of the IPL, where everyone was trying to understand how things worked. No one was sure about anything regarding whether there were superstars and different players.” The former Indian opener shed light in the same video.