Juhi Chawla looks back at KKR’s glamorous early years and the early challenges of the IPL journey

Even after taking over the team, they had no experience running a cricket franchise. Juhi mused, “We knew nothing about running a cricket franchise. I remember going to Shah Rukh’s house for meetings. Everything from composing the jingle to designing the uniforms was done in-house.” She laughed, recalling how she didn’t like the team’s first uniform. “He made it black and gold, and I wasn’t happy with it. I was like, ‘What is this black and gold?’ because black is considered ominous.”

Juhi said their KKR meetings were often late at night because Shah Rukh was busy during the day. “Our meetings were scheduled at 10 pm and started at 11 pm. By the time everyone was done talking, it was 12 or 12:30 at night and I started falling asleep. After 2-3 meetings, I stopped. I said, ‘You guys are doing this, I’m not coming.’”

Despite initial challenges, KKR has won the IPL title three times: in 2012, 2014 and 2024. The team is still led by Shah Rukh, Juhi and Jay.