IPL: 4 biggest controversies involving Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the most successful franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League, having lifted the trophy on two occasions. However, despite their success, they have not always won the hearts of fans and have often found themselves at the bottom of the IPL Fair Play points table as well.

They have also been involved in a number of controversial incidents over the course of 10 editions of the IPL. Here, we look at four of the biggest controversies involving KKR.

#4 Violating FEMA guidelines

Just before the start of the 10th season of IPL, the KKR owners, Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri and Juhi Chawla were issued a show-cause notice for violating FEMA guidelines.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, Shah Rukh had initially bought all the shares of the IPL franchise under his wife's name. However, after the team's success, 40 lakh new shares were given to Juhi Chawla at around Rs 10/share which was the par value. Chawla then sold her shares to M/s. TSIIL, Mauritius at the same value when the actual value of the shares was much higher (around Rs 90/share), leading to a foreign exchange loss of around Rs. 73.6 Crores.

#3 Threatened to pull out of IPL 8

Just prior to the commencement of the eighth edition of the IPL, the KKR management had threatened to pull out of the competition due to BCCI's stance on West Indian spinner Sunil Narine's availability for the tournament.

Narine had been banned by the ICC due to his illegal action in 2014, but had then remodeled it and been cleared by an ICC-approved biomechanical assessment centre in UK. However, the BCCI rubbished these claims and decided that they wanted to conduct their own independent assessment of Narine's remodeled action in Chennai.

The KKR management were enraged and threatened to take the BCCI to court if Narne was not allowed to play in the tournament, even going as far as to contemplate pulling the team out of the marquee T20 league altogether.

#2 Sponsorship deal with Lux Cozi

In 2010, the Knight Riders were forced to end their sponsorship deal with undergarment manufacturers Lux Cozi. According to reports, the owner of the brand had been involved in a murder case in 2007.

The scrapping of the deal was mainly due to the reactions back in Kolkata where a senior member of the Muslim clergy had demanded fans boycott the side's homes and civil liberty groups had also voiced their dissatisfaction.

"Respecting the sentiments of Kolkata and people of Bengal, both Lux Industries and KKR have decided to put their association on hold until issues are resolved and the sensitivities of the aggrieved group are adequately addressed," the KKR team director, said.

"The association was worked upon on the basis of the fact that Lux Industries is a company doing business successfully in India and based in Kolkata for more than last 50 years. No matters concerning individuals associated with the respective organizations were envisaged as this was a purely professional tie-up."

#1 Shah Rukh Khan banned from Wankhede Stadium

The Kolkata Knight Riders owner was banned from entering the Wankhede Stadium after a reported scuffle with security officials following the conclusion of a match between Mumbai Indians and KKR in IPL 2012. The MCA officials alleged that the actor was drunk when he got into a heated altercation with a security guard but Shah Rukh denied those allegations, claiming that he had seen the security guards handle his children rather roughly to which he took offence.

"The MCA managing committee is forced to ban Shah Rukh Khan from entering Wankhede Stadium for a period of five years," the MCA President had stated. "It was a unanimous decision. It applies to any match whether domestic or international at the Wankhede."

The ban was eventually lifted two years early - in 2015.