When the biggest brand of Indian cinema (Bollywood) announced his alliance with the world of cricket by picking up the franchise of the Kolkata IPL team, it was supposed to be the next best thing to happen to cricket since it won the T20 World Cup. The star to his credit brought in some fresh but amateur enthusiasm into Indian cricket viewing as a franchisee-entrepreneur. Making a strange bedfellow with the incorrigible honchos of the BCCI, his contribution to the hype, hoopla and tamasha of the IPL has been unparalleled and is probably the single most influential factor in making the IPL the biggest reality show in the country.

The media portrayed him as the best thing to happen to Indian cricket almost portraying him as the sports messiah, an image he earned with his brilliant performance as the hockey coach in Chak De. I guess Shahrukh Khan, otherwise an astute media personality took his reel-image far too seriously and fell into the trap of taking his reel-role into the real world of professional cricket. He almost overshadowed some of the biggest cricketing names on their turf. This was a fundamental error because if you are associated with Indian cricket then never sideline its heroes.
 
Bollywood may be big and happening and you may be the king but it can never replace Indian cricket as the biggest national pastime, this is best exemplified by what happened to Pachvi Pass when it was pitted against Indian cricket. I guess Shahrukh needs to learn fast that cricket is serious business for its consumers (the general public following the sport). They will dance, sing and make merry with you but will not allow any franchisee to touch the sanctity of the sport so dear to them. The BCCI is the biggest culprit. It should have briefed its franchisees about the dynamics of cricket and the process of handling cricketers. Small things like dressing room access, opinions and suggestions regarding cricket-related decisions should have been clarified at the beginning of the tournament.
 
The recent fiasco where the king of Bollywood was conspicuous by his absence when the chips were down for his team and also bringing his ego (after all he must be used to his demigod status in his own industry) as a major distraction to his already dented side, don't read good signs for him as a sports entrepreneur. I guess it's a lesson for Khan to understand the working of the BCCI. His own statement of being an anti-establishment guy means a lot of friction for the future as the BCCI deals with its own players and consumers as an autocrat would with his countrymen during the medieval times.

Anyone who has followed Indian cricket for long will know the flip-flop attitude of the BCCI. Their crackdown on the players after the 2007 World Cup fiasco and then taking a U-turn in announcing the commercial IPL, shows their lack of consistency and unsporting attitude of leaving a player/franchisee high and dry when he needs their support the most.
 
My advice to Khan: Take a leaf out of some of the American league owners or the EPL league owners, especially in dealing with players or officials and also the general public. In the final analysis, the next time you step into a cricket stadium, behave like an entrepreneur rather than a rock star or an entertainer and things will fall in place.

Secondly in true heroism and your self-proclaimed anti-establishment attitude, lock horns with the BCCI, hopefully that will help you contribute to Indian cricket.

I think what Shahrukh needs to do is garner support from players like Sourav, Sachin, Dhoni, Yuvaraj and company to restore the supremacy of cricketers who are the major attraction for the consumers of the sport and show the officials their right place, that would be the Chak De effect cricket needs from Mr Anti-establishment. After all isn't it a shame that the most powerful cricket nation does not have a player union to counteract an autocratic board infamous for pulling off its support when needed the most?