Battle of the Khans

Move over Shahrukh Khan – Salman Khan is all set to throw his hat (and considerable muscle) into the cricket ring. The Bollywood star, known more in recent times for controversy than critical acclaim, is reported to have shown an interest in bidding for a franchise when the next lot goes up for auction in 2011. He met Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, on Wednesday after several months of discussions and was given the low-down on buying a team. First up, the price tag: $200-300 million per franchise. If he can manage that, and beat off other bidders, Salman could become Bollywood's fifth IPL stakeholder after Shahrukh, Preity Zinta, Juhi Chawla and Shilpa Shetty. If that's a bit too glam-heavy for you, it isn't for Modi. "It [having a film star on board] does add to the spark of the event," he said.