Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram had a difficult experience with drug addiction during his career. When he finally kicked the habit, he found a job as a bowling coach at Kolkata Knight Riders, co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan. In an old interview, Wasim recalled how fabulous Shah Rukh was as a team owner, and narrated a story about how the superstar arranged for a private plane for the team at a moment's notice. Shah Rukh is often a fixture at KKR games, and is seen animatedly supporting his team from the stands.

In an interview with VU Sports, Wasim had said, "I think this happened during the 2012 IPL season. Our knockout match was in Kolkata, and I remember we were going to arrive via, via some place. Shah Rukh Khan was there, so I asked him, 'Khan saab, ek request hai (Mr Khan, I have a request)'. I said, 'Ladke bade thak jayenge, hum kal pahunchenge, parso match hai. Toh agar ek private plane (The team will get extremely tired. We'll reach tomorrow, and the match is the day after. If a private plane could be arranged)...' He said, 'Thak jayenge ladke? Koi problem nahi (They'll get tired you say, no problem)'. Within one hour, pura Boeing jahaaz khada tha for the whole team."

Reflecting how important the KKR job was for him, especially at that stage of his life, Wasim had written about his stint in rehab in his autobiography, “Movies conjure up an image of rehab as a caring, nurturing environment. This facility in Lahore was brutal: a bare building with five cells, a meeting room and a kitchen." He added, "Once out, I tried to keep calm, to get centred. Shah Rukh Khan offered me an attractive job as the bowling coach at Kolkata Knight Riders – my first senior coaching role anywhere.”

In an earlier interview, former cricketer Gautam Gambhir also reflected on his time as a member of the KKR coaching staff. He said that Shah Rukh never interfered in the strategy. “Since I have come, 20 days we haven’t spoken about cricket. We don’t talk about cricket. The first thing he told me in 2011 when I met him for the first time, he said, ‘I don’t like anybody telling me how acting needs to be done. I am sure you will not like someone telling you how cricket needs to be played’. I said, ‘Absolutely’. And that was the only conversation I had with him. In the last 20 days, he has not asked me what team are we playing or what is the strategy,” Gambhir said in a chat with Ravichander Ashwin on YouTube.

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