New Delhi: Tamil Nadu cricketer Shahrukh Khan has spent much of his career carrying a name instantly recognisable across India, but despite the obvious connection to Hindi film superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the Tamil Nadu batter has a different celebrity at the top of his wish list.
Shahrukh, who recently led Kovai Kings to their third Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) title, said he has not yet met the Hindi film industry superstar he was named after. If he could choose, the Tamil Nadu player would rather meet Salman Khan than his famous namesake.
“I really wish to meet Salman Khan more than Shah Rukh,” the cricketer said in an exclusive conversation with IANS.
The 29-year-old has had multiple chances to meet his famous namesake during his IPL career, especially in matches against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, these opportunities never came to fruition since Shah Rukh Khan was absent from the games.
“I haven’t (met him) as yet. I haven’t met Shahrukh Khan as yet. But yeah, hope to meet him soon. We played quite a few matches against KKR. But I actually missed the opportunity to meet Shahrukh Khan. He obviously did not come for the game. If he would have come, obviously, I would have met him. But you know, I really wish to meet Salman Khan more than Shahrukh,” he said.
The meeting with Shah Rukh Khan might be especially intriguing for the cricketer. Since he was born after the Bollywood star, Shahrukh is aware that he was named after the actor and is eager to see how the superstar responds when they finally meet.
“No, I will wait for his reaction first. Because I was born after him. So, I was named after him. So, I hope I have heard that he has got an uncanny sense of humour. Obviously, I am good friends with Varun Chakravarthy. And he said that he is a really wonderful person at heart. And waiting to see what sort of an uncanny sense of humour he has. And yeah, really excited to meet him,” he said.
While his name has often been a talking point, Shahrukh has carved out his own identity in Tamil Nadu cricket over the past several years.
He has been part of the state’s cricket circuit for about two decades and has emerged as one of Tamil Nadu’s leading white-ball players. His journey has taken him to the IPL, where he has played for multiple franchises and, most recently, represented Gujarat Titans.
The most recent achievement was in the TNPL, where he guided Kovai Kings to their third championship. The team beat Madurai Panthers by 84 runs in the final, making them only the second team in the tournament’s history to secure three titles.
Shahrukh sees the TNPL’s significance extending beyond his personal achievements. He considers the tournament a crucial stepping stone for young cricketers in Tamil Nadu, having already facilitated several players’ progress to the IPL and other higher tiers of domestic cricket.
“Yeah, TNPL has been a platform for a lot of players from Tamil Nadu, including me, Natarajan, Varun Chakravarthy, a lot of players and the way the tournament has grown over the years is just immense. And not just TNPL but the other leagues that happen around India as well. But the first domestic tournament for a state T20 was TNPL and very fortunate to be a part of this tournament,” he said.
“And every year, you see new talents coming up. I hope even this year, the IPL scouts see a few talents and picks so that the tournament grows even bigger next year,” he added.
Shahrukh’s own TNPL campaign was particularly significant following a difficult IPL 2026 season with Gujarat Titans.
The batter struggled to make the desired impact in the IPL and was dropped from the playing XI midway through the tournament. Shahrukh also revealed that he used the break to address a technical issue in his batting and returned to the TNPL with greater confidence.
“I was having a technical flaw in my batting. I had a technical flaw which was hampering my batting quite a lot from the last 7-8 months. I’ve really come back from IPL and worked on it. My front foot was going too far across, which I never used to do that before. Yeah, I had a proper couple of months in between where I could focus on my technique and get as tight as possible in that,” he said.
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