CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya with Shah Rukh Khan during his visit to the Eden Gardens on Saturday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: Shah Rukh Khan, franchise owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, breezed into town on Saturday and called on CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya at the Eden Gardens. The Bollywood star described the visit as a “courtesy call” and emphasised, “I am a Calcuttan at heart from the day we bought Knight Riders.”

Dalmiya, too, termed it as a “friendly open discussion” involving “many issues but nothing specific.”

According to a source, “it was a meeting aimed at knowing each other… The discussions were held in a very cordial atmosphere.”

Dalmiya said they are ready to extend full support to Shah Rukh. “If he comes one-and-a-half step forward, we will go three-fourths. There will be full co-operation from our side. It was a very friendly, very warm and very open talk. If the attitude is right, the approach is right, one can always find ways and means to sort out issues,” he said.

Asked if he had any discussion regarding the Rs 7.26 crore spent by the CAB during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League, Dalmiya said: “There are certain grey areas which have to be sorted out. It was so nice of him to come here and discuss the things with us.”

Former CAB president Prasun Mukherjee has replied to the CAB letter regarding the accounts. “It was a pretty innocuous letter asking me to explain the amount spent during the period. I’m always ready to help them,” Mukherjee said.

Shah Rukh, meanwhile, lauded Sourav Ganguly’s inclusion in the national side. “I feel happy for Sourav,” he said.

“I am a Kolkata Knight Rider, so be it Sourav (Ganguly), Ajantha (Mendis) or (Brendon) McCullum... It makes me happy when any of our players do well. We have already started our next season’s preparation (in Australia), and we are upbeat about our good show next season,” he added.

Affirming that Eden Gardens will remain the Knight Riders’ home ground, Shah Rukh said: “I’ve every reason to be here in during the Pujas. I am a Calcuttan.”