After Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, another Bollywood star has jumped the IPL bandwagon. The second season of the T20 tournament sees the entry of Shilpa Shetty, who, along with beau Raj Kundra, has picked up a stake in Rajasthan Royals.
Dismissing talk of following in the footsteps of the other two Bollywood big names, Shetty says, “It’s a business decision, I’m not following anyone. I’ve learnt from their mistakes and made the right decision of choosing the winning team.”
She’s quick to admit that Kundra came up with the idea. “Raj knew the owners, they’re all based in Britain. I’m the only Indian from among the owners. We couldn’t have associated with a better team, in terms of performance and consistency. They have a great captain in Shane Warne, they played really well and won the tournament last year.”
While Shetty declined to comment on the monetary aspect, Lalit Modi, in an IPL release, said, “The 11.7 per cent stake which has been acquired by Shilpa and Raj places the overall valuation of the Rajasthan Royals at nearly US $ 140 million, which translates into an astronomical figure of 3733% capital appreciation for Emerging Media.”
Elaborating on her involvement in the team, Shetty says, “I won’t jump into the field telling players how to go about the game.. but will be cheering Halla bol from the stands. We all have our roles and I respect that.
{{/usCountry}}Elaborating on her involvement in the team, Shetty says, “I won’t jump into the field telling players how to go about the game.. but will be cheering Halla bol from the stands. We all have our roles and I respect that.
{{/usCountry}}I’ll use my creative sensibilities to whatever entertainment value the team that lacked the last time and market and promote it better.”