‘Shah Rukh Khan himself offered me a 3-year contract’- Yasir Arafat makes surprising claims

The 15th edition of the Indian T20 League is currently underway. As many as 10 teams are participating and it will be interesting to see who wins the title this time around. Surprisingly, the two most successful franchises in the tournament’s history, Mumbai and Chennai have occupied the bottom two spots on the points table.

Having not won a single game in 8 matches so far, Mumbai are already out of the race for the playoffs. Chennai, on the other hand, have 2 wins in 7 games.

There is no denying the fact that the Indian T20 League is the biggest cricket franchise tournament in the world. World-class players from around the globe come together to participate in the cash-rich league. However, due to political tensions between India and Pakistan, the latter is not allowed to send their players to compete in the cash-rich tournament.

Notably, players from Pakistan played in the first edition of the Indian T20 League. However, they were banned to participate from the next edition onwards. Former Pakistan speedster, Yasir Arafat recently disclosed the conversation he had with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan after the first edition of the Indian T20 League.

Interestingly, Arafat wasn’t on the list shortlisted by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the inaugural edition. However, when he was in England playing county cricket in 2008, Arafat was contacted by the KKR’s scouting team and also offered him a three-year contract.

“Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had shortlisted names for the first edition and unfortunately, I was not among them and couldn’t play,” Yasir said on Cricket Den’s YouTube channel.

“I was playing County Cricket for Kent in 2008 where KKR’s Scouting Team specially came from India and they met me during a match. They revealed that Shah Rukh Khan wants me to play for his side,” he added.

“Initially, I thought it was a joke as to why Shah Rukh would send somebody to talk regarding the contract. They also handed me a card and took my contact details.”

A few weeks later, I received an email where they complained about not contacting and the discussion was put off. They again offered me a three-year contract where Shah Rukh himself called and welcomed me. He also picked up my contract through someone in London while travelling to the United States of America,” he added.

“Then Mumbai blasts happened and Pakistan players were unable to become part of the competition ever again,” he concluded.

For the unversed, Yasir Arafat is a former Pakistan cricketer, who played 3 Tests and 11 ODIs for Pakistan, picking 9 and 4 wickets respectively.