Shah Rukh Khan with celebrity cheerleader Priyanka Chopra at a KKR match at the Eden Gardens in 2011

He danced alongside Shah Rukh Khan to Chak Dhoom Dhoom in Dil Toh Pagal Hai as a 12-year-old. A decade and a half later, Calcutta boy Vishal Kanoi is making Team Shah Rukh Khan dance to his choreography.

Vishal, 28, has just been appointed official choreographer of the Kolkata Knight Riders, an assignment that he calls the “biggest” of his career so far.

“I received a call from Cineyug 10-12 days back and they asked me to send them my profile. I was next called for a meeting in Mumbai, where they gave me the complete briefing,” said Vishal, who has taught dance in the US and choreographed celebrity weddings, among other assignments.

So what does Vishal intend doing that other choreographers haven’t done before on the Indian Premier League stage? “I am told that this is the first time they are taking a local choreographer. Usually, the practice is to hire to someone from Mumbai,” he told Metro.

Not just the choreographer, the nine cheerleaders and two back-up dancers for IPL 2012 are all from Calcutta. So is the man at the console, DJ Girish from party hotspot Shisha.

“The KKR people have partied at Shisha. They have also heard me at the F Bar in Delhi,” said the spinmaster of his IPL call of duty.

Girish, who will be playing at all eight matches involving KKR at the Eden Gardens, has started preparing to get the crowd going. “The management has told me that I can experiment with the theme track Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re, so I am working on that.”

Choreographer Vishal, who had been busy holding auditions the past few days, has promised “variety”.

“I received a crazy number of applications (from dancers). The IPL is such a glamorous event that I had not expected anything less. I created a separate email ID just to cope with the mails from applicants,” he said.

Apart from the regular cheerleader moves in between overs, Vishal will be choreographing the opening night of KKR at the Eden on April 5. “There will be a performance by a Bangla band and some dances. I am putting it all together,” he said.

DJ Girish’s match music will be all about keeping the mood upbeat. “I have to play something when the team scores a four or a six, or when a wicket is taken. I will play all the current top 20 Bolly and international tracks, of course, but as the venue is Calcutta and the team is KKR, I will also be playing some Bengali tracks. I am doing some research on what will work,” he said.

Girish’s shortlist of local tracks includes the anthemic Ekla Cholo Re, which also features in the hit of the season, Kaahani.

Shah Rukh would be hoping box-office flavour Bidya Bagchi’s kahaani of success rubs off on his team every time Ekla Cholo Re echoes at Eden.