A teenaged Virat Kohli could only watch in admiration each time Brendon McCullum sent the ball into near-orbit from the Chinnaswamy bowl on that pivotal summer night in Bengaluru.
Seventeen seasons ago, the architect of modern-day Bazball had scripted a most violent takeoff for the Indian Premier League as the country’s love affair with cricket hurtled into uncharted territory.
As the money-spinning league attains adulthood at the Eden Gardens on Saturday — at least by the count of seasons — Kohli would be looking to provide the magic touch himself, and perhaps seeking closure for the wounds of the past years.
The master willow-wielder has smashed international batting records and won the 50-over and T20 World Cups. But what is perhaps the most coveted crown in domestic cricket has kept eluding him all these years.
KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) team player is practicing at Eden Gardens on Friday, March 21, 2025. Picture by Sanat Kr Sinha
Kohli’s record against the Kolkata Knight Riders is nothing extraordinary, either, showing an average of 38.48 across 31 innings with just one century, which came in 2019 at this very venue.
The lone member of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s current side to have played that 2008 tournament opener, Kohli had managed just one off five balls as his team crashed to an ignominious defeat after McCullum’s heroics.
However, cricket’s landscape has witnessed a transformation since then, with Kohli maturing from boy wonder to one of the game’s all-time greats. And the IPL has emerged as a template for success where sports and entertainment have amalgamated into a booming industry and a magnet for the rich and the famous.
The official broadcasters have released a promotional poster with the tagline “Badshah vs King” for the KKR-RCB contest. It has invited a lot of trolling on social media since Shah Rukh “Badshah” Khan is not expected to take the field for his Knights.
Shah Rukh has promised to shake a leg, though, at the inaugural ceremony with Disha Patani and Shreya Ghoshal.
KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) team player is practicing at Eden Gardens on Friday, March 21, 2025. Picture by Sanat Kr Sinha.
The Eden is all ribboned up, its marquee stands gleaming in the floodlights. The dress rehearsal didn’t go to plan, with rain the killjoy. Kohli’s final net session got truncated too, but he wouldn’t care.
The galleries will be brimming over on Saturday with delirious spectators gyrating to Bollywood chartbusters amid the electrifying display of laser beams. The snaking queues will be seen from late afternoon.
The Knights will be without Shreyas Iyer — the first time in IPL history that a winning captain will not be with his franchise to defend the crown. But in Ajinkya Rahane they have the experience and acumen needed for an encore.
Both teams — players and support staff included — will sport a new look following the mega auction.
“We will look to defend (the title) and we have a great squad and great batsmen too,” Varun Chakravarthy, ready for his mini-battle with Kohli, said on Friday.
The IPL today is far from the extravaganza that Lalit Modi had envisaged and created. No late-night after-match parties, and none of the raves or ramp walks that had the fans jostling to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars.
Gone are the days when Shah Rukh would fly in the who’s who of Bollywood to watch his boys perform atthe Eden.
Yet, KKR’s principal owner will be there to enthral a full house. The IPL has come to define Indian summers for cricket lovers, and with Shah Rukh on the dance floor, can the glamour quotient be questioned?
Here’s hoping the rain stays away.
