Monday, May 19, 2008

SRK dug-out row: Modi clarifies

NEW DELHI: Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi clarified the IPL stance on owners in dug-outs. ( Watch )

Lalit Modi said there are four visitors passes to meet the team in the dug-outs. These are given by the manager or the coach of the team to anyone they want to give access to for 15 minutes.

He also said, "There's another batch in red colour which is for one owner to have an all-time access to the dressing room and players' dug-outs".

Earlier there were reports that said BCCI had made it clear that ICC's rules shall be followed by on-going Indian Premier League following ICC's intervention regarding Team Kolkata owner Shah Rukh Khan's conduct. ( Watch: ‘SRK must follow rules’ )

BCCI further said that no exception shall be made for anybody and apart from players no one is allowed on dug out. IPL will take a final decision on the matter later on Monday and will send a circular to this effect, according to a news channel report.

ICC also asked BCCI to question KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan about his conduct during IPL matches.

Watch: BCCI should question SRK, says ICC

Meanwhile, Team Kolkata CEO Joy Bhattacharya said that it is difficult to keep SRK out from the dug out and these rules does not apply on team owners. He further said that the issue can be sorted out harmoniously with ICC.

On Sunday night, Shah Rukh Khan expressed disappointment at the ICC Anti Corruption Unit barring him from going to the team dug out and dressing room in the remaining matches.

"I like to hang around with the boys. I am very energetic. I am very disappointed that the ICC has stopped me. I don't know the ICC rules. I'll tell only one thing. Nobody dare stop me from coming to Kolkata. I'll be here whenever my team plays a match at the Eden," Khan said.

Earlier, the Anti Corruption Unit officials had cautioned the actor about going into the dressing room and the team dug out during the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings.

Sources said later they directed the matinee idol to stay away from these areas in the remaining matches of his team.

Asked about the Knight Riders' defeat against the Chennai side, he said, "You play the game to win. We feel sad when the boys lose. But such things happen.

"I work hard. I want them to work harder. I would have liked the Kolkata Knight Riders to reach the final," he said.

On the Knight Riders' success as a brand, SRK said "With the help of colleagues we've done something for this. Still there is a long way to go before it becomes the number one sporting brand".

Khan said he was overwhelmed by the response of the Kolkata public and conceded the gate sales had fetched him twice the amount he had expected.

On Sunday, he was told to keep a 'safe distance' from his team. The Anti-Corruption Unit of the ICC asked the KKR owner that he should not be in the player's dressing room or their dugout just beyond the boundary. "I've been told it's got something to do with ICCs Code of Conduct," SRK himself informed on Sunday evening in response to a question during a media conference. "I’ve been made to believe its anti anti-corruption."

Shah Rukh, who is usually seen cheering the Knights in the company of his group of celebrities from the terraces of the BC Roy Club House at the Eden Gardens, has of late been making it to the dugout at the ground. The Bollywood matinee idol has been with his 'boys' in the dressing room, by his own admission very discreetly and only with the permission of coach John Buchanan, but now that door will be shut for him.