Kolkata Knight Riders wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy on Friday said team owner Shah Rukh Khan has made a "huge impact" with his motivational speeches when the chips were down in the ongoing IPL.
His comments come at a time when Lucknow Super Giants team owner Sanjiv Goenka has copped criticism for his "public reprimand" of skipper KL Rahul after they faced a record defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday.
KKR had also met with a similar fate at the Eden Gardens on April 26 when Punjab Kings made a world record chase of 262 in just 18.4 overs.
"SRK has been present in almost all matches in Kolkata. Even in the match where we didn't do well, he came to the dressing room and spoke to every player for an hour and hugged everyone," Chakravarthy said referring to the PBKS match.
"He said 'it's just a match, cricket is changing, just try to be better in the next match'. This time, I see a massive difference because the way he has been very understanding, he's been very approachable, it has made a huge impact. I also got to meet him for the first time."
Chakravarthy was replying to a query about SRK's support off the field to the team members and there was no reference of the Goenka-Rahul incident.
Table-toppers KKR find themselves in the pink of health and a win will seal their play-off berth with two matches to go.
MI, on the other hand, are out of play-off race but Chakravarthy said they're still a very much "dangerous" side.
"We don't have any edge over MI because they are out of the tournament. They are a champion side.
"They are full of stars and match winners, and a very dangerous team anywhere. Even if we have to win one match to qualify, we have to be well-prepared and on our toes and look to finish in top-two," he said.
Despite some odd challenges, KKR have managed to come up trumps, winning eight of their 11 matches.
"When you're on top of the table, it gives you more responsibility.
"The best thing we can do right now is being consistent which is tougher than trying to find out something and improve on it. It's about doing the basics right," he said.
Hardik exceptional captain: Coetzee
Hardik Pandya's captaincy may have come under scrutiny for his questionable decisions, but South African pacer Gerald Coetzee, who made his IPL debut for MI, termed him as an "exceptional" leader.
"I think, he's been a really good captain. Every captain has a unique style and no captain is the same. He's (Hardik) been really good, he's been really motivational to the guys, he's been really clear with the plans, I think he's an exceptional captain," Coetzee said.
MI have lost eight matches this season but the dressing room atmosphere has been really good, he said.
"I think the mood in the dressing room has been really good. We've done our best every game, we've prepared well. We've made some mistakes and sometimes we've been outplayed.
"It's still really good. And we've got strong leaders, we've got really good players. I think there's not much to look into that. I think it's been a good mood consistently, right throughout," he added.
