Meet the Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan of Indian cricket

Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan are two of the biggest names in the Indian film industry. But in some corner of India, there are a couple of cricketers by the same names. The players may not be as popular as the ones in the Bollywood sector, but there’s no shortage of skills in them by any means. Shahrukh is 24 years old, born in Chennai and plies his trade for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit.

He is a lower-order batsman, who bowls off-breaks. He was first named in the domestic side back in 2014 but had to wait until 2018 when he got his first chance. His first match was against Chennai and he turned up with scores of 92* and 34 to help Tamil Nadu beat Kerala by a mammoth 151 runs. In fact, he got his name after the Bollywood actor itself. Her aunt is a massive fan of the veteran.

“My aunt (mom’s sister) is a big SRK fan and she always told my mother that if you are blessed with a boy, name him Shahrukh Khan. She is a die-hard Shah Rukh fan,” Shahrukh was quoted as saying in an exclusive interview with The Times of India (TOI).

“When I first came into the team (Tamil Nadu), I was 19. I got the chance (to make my debut) in a first-class match four years later. It was always a dream to play at the Chepauk. I dreamt of it for a long time and finally, it (the dream) came true. It was an emotional moment for me. It was a dream debut (vs Kerala). I scored decent runs and helped my team win the match,” Shahrukh added.

I started playing when I was eight, says Salman

Like Shahrukh, even Salman is someone, who bats in the lower order and hones his skills in off-spin bowling. But he didn’t get his name from actor Salman Khan. Rather, it was because his father loved the meaning of the name. Salman was a part of two India U19 Asia Cup campaigns in 2016 and 2017 respectively. He is a 20-year-old from Jhalawar in Rajasthan.

He made his debut as a 17-year-old and smashed 110 off 203 balls in his debut Ranji Trophy match against Odisha in November 2016. Rahul Chahar, who recently made his international debut, made his first-class debut in the same match. Salman also revealed how he got into cricket and he also thanked his father for supporting him through thick and thin.

“My father gave me the name Salman because he loved its meaning. That’s why he gave me this name. It was not because of the Bollywood star Salman Khan,” Salman told TOI.

“I started playing when I was eight. I used to watch some older players on the playground. I loved the excitement, the energy and that’s what inspired me to take up cricket. My father was impressed with my love for cricket. One day he asked me ‘Cricket khelega kya?’ (Will you play cricket?). I said yes and smiled. He supported me a lot from then on,” he added.

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