MCA lifts ban on Shah Rukh

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on Sunday lifted the ban it imposed three years ago on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Wankhede Stadium here.

Shah Rukh, owner of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), was banned from entering the stadium in 2012 after he misbehaved with security staff following a match between KKR and Mumbai Indians. He was originally banned for five years.

"The managing committee of MCA has decided to lift the ban it imposed three years ago on Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Wankhede Stadium," MCA vice president Ashish Selhar told IANS.

"On the proposal of MCA president Sharad Pawar and me, the managing committee has decided to lift the ban. The ban was imposed on him for many years, so today we thought it would not look good to bar somebody like this. So we decided it should be lifted. Now Shah Rukh is open to enter Wankhede."

The "Chennai Express" star was banned on May 18, 2012 from entering the MCA premises by the managing committee of the association headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh, former chief minister of Maharashtra.

MCA officials had also lodged a complaint against the 49-year-old actor at the Marine Drive police station saying that he was drunk and abused the officials.

Shah Rukh had denied that he misbehaved and said that he reacted after some children, including his own, being manhandled by the stadium security staff.

The MCA in 2014 had offered to temporarily lift the ban on the actor in what was a failed attempt at bringing back the IPL final from Bengaluru to Mumbai. That offer, however, was just for the final.

Shah Rukh also owns Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel. The team recently clinched the 2015 Twenty20 title.