All you need to know about Tamil Nadu’s power-hitter – Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan is in the limelight after he was bought for 5.25 cr INR by Punjab Kings in the IPL 2021 auction. Apart from the Punjab Kings franchise, Delhi and Bangalore also bid for the young all-rounder. Shahrukh had registered at a base price of 20 lakh but his batting talent made sure to create a bidding war.

Shahrukh had a very good domestic season and was one of the most important players for Tamil Nadu in the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The right-handed middle-order batsman scored at a magnificent strike rate of 220 in the tournament with a high score of 40 not out and helped the Tamil Nadu team to clinch the title. Let’s look at some of the interesting facts about Shahrukh Khan.

5. Born in Chennai:

Shahrukh Khan was born on 27 May 1995 in the capital city of Tamil Nadu, Chennai. He grew up playing cricket in this very city and has now earned his first IPL contract in the same city. He also played tennis-ball cricket while growing up. Shahrukh’s maternal aunt is a big fan of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and she forced his parents to name him after the superstar.

4. Family of cricketers:

Shahrukh Khan has cricket in his blood as he comes from a family of cricketers. His father Masood and younger brother Akram are also cricket players. His father could not make it big in the game but played league cricket in Chennai.

3. Early setback:

Shahrukh Khan suffered a major setback in the early days of his career when he did not receive an India call-up for the Under 19 World Cup in 2014. He had performed very well in the Cooch Behar Trophy in the buildup to the tournament scoring 624 runs in 8 innings and picked up 8 wickets as well. However, he kept working on his game even after this setback.

2. Domestic career

Shahrukh made his T20 and List A debut for Tamil Nadu in 2014 at the age of 18.  However, he had to work very hard to make his debut in the Ranji Trophy. He earned his maiden call-up for the Ranji Trophy in the 2014-15 season but had to wait for four years for his first match in the tournament. And in the very first opportunity he got, he played an unbeaten knock of 92 when the team was struggling at 81 for 5 against Kerala and helped them reach 268. Tamil Nadu won this match by 151 runs thanks to a wonderful knock from Shahrukh.

1. Disappointment in IPL 2020 auction:

After doing well in domestic cricket for his state team and in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, Shahrukh was expecting to get picked in 2020 IPL. However, he failed to find a single bidder in the auction as he went unsold. Before the auction, he was invited by Mumbai Indians for trials but he failed to impress. Shahrukh would now be hoping to make the best of the opportunities he gets in the upcoming IPL with the Punjab Kings team.