Cricket
Cricket
Find out what Shahrukh Khan thinks about Red Bull Campus Cricket
The Chennai cricketer who had a huge 2021 domestic season shares his thoughts and memories from when he played the college cricket tournament.
Shahrukh Khan is one of India’s top upcoming cricket talents.
He was part of the Tamil Nadu team that went unbeaten on the way to becoming champions of the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Later, he was signed up by the Punjab team of India’s biggest T20 franchise cricket league for the 2021 season. Playing under captain KL Rahul, he got a learn a lot in his debut season as he played 11 matches and scored 153 runs.
But Shahrukh’s journey in cricket is much older having played in the Tamil Nadu Premier League for many years and also starring in Red Bull Campus Cricket.
It was at Red Bull Campus Cricket 2019 where he captained Hindustan College, Chennai, to the national final, eventually losing but earning the individual award of ‘Player of the Tournament’.
Shahrukh Khan stretching before the final match
© Ali Bharmal
Shahrukh was spotted by scouts of Rajasthan Royals, present at Red Bull Campus Cricket 2019 India, and selected for a trial with the team in Nagpur. Post the trials, he was entered into the league auction where he was picked up by KL Rahul’s Punjab team.
As the tournament completes 10 years in India, we speak with Shahrukh about his experience playing in Red Bull Campus Cricket and representing his college team.
How did your journey as a cricketer begin with Red Bull Campus Cricket?
Red Bull Campus Cricket was talked about a lot when I was growing up and when I was playing in school. From the time that I was a school kid, I always aspired to play in the tournament since it was the defining platform for young cricketers to make it big. College cricket is competitive and Red Bull Campus Cricket has contributed a lot to cricketers across India. It has been a great journey to play in Red Bull Campus Cricket and represent my college and my country. I scored 15 runs off 16 balls in the first match in the tournament, which is a memory I cherish even today.
Shahrukh plays a shot during the 2019 national final
© Ali Bharmal
Any personal anecdotes or stories of playing Red Bull Campus Cricket which you cherish?
We were playing the semifinals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. I still remember that it was a hot sunny day. We were really excited to play the semifinals and go on to play the finals. But unfortunately, we did not start out well as a team while batting. I got out very early and we were all out for about 100-odd runs. While we were sitting in the dressing room, we all thought that our journey was over; we were losing the match and had lost hope. As the captain, I told the team we should push ourselves and try again, for one last time. And I was happy that my teammates did show character and really tried their level best. I picked some crucial wickets as well. We won that match by 20 runs and we were very happy that we qualified for the finals. The celebrations were huge that day. It was an extremely special day for us.
Shahrukh accepts the award as Player of the Tournament 2019
© Ali Bharmal
How did Red Bull Campus Cricket help you grow?
Red Bull Campus Cricket has been a big platform for me. In the finals that we played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in May 2019, we had scouts from Rajasthan Royals at the game. They watched me play and noticed that I had talent. And that’s how I got a big opportunity in my career. It was a big boost for us as this doesn’t happen at a college level usually.
