IPL 7 winners KKR's grand felicitation at Eden on Tuesday

Memories of the 2012’s grand felicitation of Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens are set to be re-lived with the West Bengal government and Cricket Association of Bengal having planned a similar programme at the same venue tomorrow morning. All the roads tomorrow will lead up to Eden Gardens, KKR’s home venue, and the entry will be free for the fans to join the felicitation programme, CAB joint secretary Subir Ganguly said. [caption id=“attachment_1553145” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  KKR players celebrate their victory during the final of the Pepsi Indian Premier League Season VII 2014 between the Kings XI Punjab and the Kolkata Knight Riders. BCCI[/caption] “Eden Gardens gates will be open from 11.30am to 3.30pm and everybody is welcome to join in the grand victory march tomorrow. We have all plans to make the victory doubly memorable,” Ganguly, who is with the KKR team, told PTI from Bangalore. He further said CAB supremo Jagmohan Dalmiya will call on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat (Nabanna) this afternoon to finalise the programme. The CAB official also said he would land in the city with the triumphant KKR team members and the Trophy at 7pm today. Team Mamata had come under sharp criticism after showering KKR with gold medals and gold chains in an extravagant felicitation after their maiden IPL triumph in season five, two years ago. It will be interesting to see how the state supremo goes about the felicitation this time around especially when the West Bengal government is under scrutiny in the wake of Saradha chit fund scam. Earlier, the West Bengal chief minister had congratulated Kolkata Knight Riders and its co-owner Shah Rukh Khan for their second IPL triumph, last night in Bangalore. “Congratulations… KKR; Congratulations… Shah Rukh,” Mamata posted on her official Facebook page moments after Piyush Chawla hit the winning boundary to seal a three-wicket chase with three balls to spare against Kings XI Punjab in a pulsating IPL-VIII final. Thousands of KKR fans waving purple-gold flags, and screaming team slogan ‘Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re!’ poured into the streets of Kolkata while firecrackers lit up the skyline after the Gautam Gambhir-skippered side won their second IPL title, something that had earlier achieved by Chennai Super Kings. Mamata had earlier conveyed her best wishes to Shah Rukh who is also the brand ambassador of West Bengal as the Bollywood heart throb had called on the CM at her residence after their team sailed into the final with a win over the same KXIP in the first qualifier May 28. Shah Rukh had earlier urged Kolkatans to get ready and celebrate the triumph on Hooghly river and on the streets of Kolkata. “This time on the Hooghly we are going to dance, we will create issues on the roads in Calcutta. Mamatadi, we are coming back like we promised. We are the champions,” he said. “The party starts from here. We will move to Mumbai and then to Calcutta… It’s going to be a long affair. My son is in London, my wife and daughter are in Paris and the little one is in Delhi. So I will have to celebrate the win everywhere!” The celebration for KKR went till the wee hours this morning at their Bangalore team hotel with team co-owner Shah Rukh leading the party. “Tonight I will teach u how to dancer boy,” Shah Rukh said in reply to KKR player Kuldeep Yadav in an early morning tweet on his official Twitter handle. “Either the cup is too big or my nose is. Either way the victory of my KKR boys is the biggest still. Love u. Get ready Kolkata we rule!!!!” Quoting Serbian poet and philosopher Dejan Stojanovic, Shah Rukh tweeted: “‘Knighthood lies above eternity; it doesn’t live off fame, but rather deeds.’ My Knights are most beautiful.” Shah Rukh also thanked physiotherapist Andrew Leipus and trainer Adrian Leroux for their contribution. Last night, Shah Rukh had dedicated the victory to his little son AbRam the newest member to his family. “But I’m sorry this time I can’t dedicate this win to the City of Joy… This one is for my little baby AbRam. But I am happy to bring the trophy back to Calcutta,” said Shah Rukh. “I am really happy and proud of the team. My children are happy. I would like to dedicate this victory to my little baby AbRam, who has just got his KKR T-shirt! The win is as much of Gautam and the team.” “Everyone in KKR… be it Gautam or Manish, who won us the game today… We have a team that believes in itself. We are not flashy, we don’t have big names, we are a bunch who just goes out and does its job. KKR is just like me. “Perhaps, I am a bit flashy because I have been working for too long and I can do somersaults. But yes, KKR is like me… cool,” he said in the post-match presentation ceremony. PTI