Preity Zinta's Punjab Kings buys Shahrukh Khan at IPL auction, Twitter says 'finally Veer and Zaara met'

Preity Zinta's IPL team Punjab Kings bought rookie cricketer Shahrukh Khan for ₹5.25 crore. Twitter exploded with Veer-Zaara references.

All eyes are on the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction that is currently underway in Chennai. Actor Preity Zinta, who co-owns the newly rechristened Punjab Kings team, bought right-hand batsman and occasional right-arm off-spinner Shahrukh Khan for a sum of ₹5.25 crore. The cricketer, who is named after actor Shah Rukh Khan, had a base price of ₹20 lakh. Incidentally, Shah Rukh co-owns the rival Kolkata Knight Riders team.

Preity Zinta's team Punjab Kings bought a player named Shahrukh Khan at the IPL auction, leading to a flurry of jokes on Twitter.

The news was shared on Twitter by the official handle of the IPL. “Shahrukh Khan, with a base price of 20 Lac, is attracting interest at the #IPLAuction. @Vivo_India. He goes to @PunjabKingsIPL for 5.25Cr INR @Vivo_India #IPLAuction - WOW,” the tweets read.

Shahrukh Khan had a base price of ₹20 lakh.

Many fans had hilarious reactions to it. “Finally Veer & Zaara met. #IPLAuction,” one wrote, referring to Yash Chopra’s Veer-Zaara, a film about star-crossed lovers, starring Shah Rukh and Preity in the lead roles.

“Priety Zinta helps SRK make his IPL debut after she debuted with SRK,” another wrote, referring to Preity’s first release, Dil Se, in which she was cast opposite Shah Rukh. “SRK n zinta in same team now,” a third wrote. “After KKR now Punjab also got a SRK,” a fourth wrote.

In 2019, Shahrukh told Timesofindia.com how he would react if he met his namesake. “If I meet him, I will give him a smile. I am sure I will be feeling quite nervous at first. But I won’t initiate (a conversation). I will wait for him to say - ‘My name is Shah Rukh Khan’. Then I will also say – ‘My name is Shahrukh Khan too’. I would love to see his reaction. I am sure by that time he will know me,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh was not present at the IPL auction, with his son Aryan Khan filling in for him. Co-owner and actor Juhi Chawla’s daughter Jahnavi Mehta was also seen at the auction.