'Shahrukh created KKR and then removed Sourav Ganguly' - Abhijeet Bhattacharya feels Dada was 'demoralised'

2-time IPL winners Kolkata Knight Riders kicked off the Indian Premier League (IPL) in grand fashion by thumping Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening match of the inaugural edition.

Sourav Ganguly led the Shahrukh Khan-owned franchise in the first three seasons. However, the team could not make it to the semifinals and ultimately, the team management released the former Indian captain.

In an exclusive chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda's Facebook page, famous Bollywood playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya pointed out that there was no need to demoralise a legendary player like 'Dada'.

Bhattacharya, who has worked with Shahrukh Khan in Bollywood, feels that the IPL is good for the Indian cricket, but that it should be an all-Indian tourney.

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Bhattacharya stresses on Sourav Ganguly incident and shows what's wrong in the IPL

61-year-old veteran singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya followed cricket closely when he was young, but the introduction of T20 leagues like the IPL has driven him away from the sport. Giving his opinion on the Indian Premier League, Bhattacharya said:

"I don't waste my time watching IPL. Rather I would play gully cricket. That is more entertaining for me."

Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who feels that Yusuf Pathan can become a bigger hero than Sachin Tendulkar in T20 cricket, further continued that if the IPL provided employment to people, it should not have players from New Zealand, Australia, and other foreign countries. He opined that many talented Indian cricketers do not get an opportunity because the foreign cricketers are playing.

Talking about the way Sourav Ganguly was demoralised, he added:

"Shahrukh Khan created KKR and then removed Sourav Ganguly. It seemed like he came only to do that. Sourav Ganguly showed us what is the role of a captain in cricket, but then the likes of Greg Chappell and Kiran More demoralised him. Next, Shahrukh Khan said that remove him and elect another guy. So, to demoralise him so much was wrong."

Bhattacharya admitted that there was also an age factor involved in Sourav Ganguly's case, but he should not have been unnerved to such an extent.

It is worth noting that former KKR batsman Aakash Chopra had recently revealed that the then-Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanan wished to remove Sourav Ganguly from the franchise's captaincy.