Bangalore:
The Indian Premier League might be more than a month away, but Shah Rukh Khan, co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, has initiated the team building process already.
King Khan sent a text message to Gautam Gambhir, whom KKR won with a bid of more Rs. 11 crore at this year's auction, wishing him and his Indian teammates good luck for the World Cup.
"He (Khan) sent me a text message wishing me and the Indian team the best for the World Cup. I appreciated the gesture, it felt good," Gambhir, who is also tipped to lead the Kolkata franchise, told MiD DAY.
However, the text message has been the only interaction between Gambhir and SRK since the IPL auction in January so far, the Delhi batsman, said.
"At that time, he was in South Africa and I was in Delhi. After that, I got busy with the preparation for the World Cup. We will chat after the tournament," the left-hander said.
Gambhir was keen to know about the status of the Eden Gardens which has been under renovation. "How is the new look of the stadium? I heard that the number of seats has been reduced. What is the capacity now?" he asked.
The Kolkata venue was scheduled to host the India-England World Cup group game, which was shifted to Bangalore and ended in a thrilling tie on Sunday, because of the delay in the completion of construction work.
Gambhir said that the backing of the huge crowd at the Eden Gardens, which was more than a lakh earlier, could have helped India win the tie.
"If the India-England match had been held in Kolkata, the vociferous crowd could have helped us win the match. In Bangalore too, we got tremendous support from the crowd," he said.