By Soumyadipta Banerjee

After apologizing to his fans, Shah Rukh Khan has now publicly apologized to the officials of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) who have banned him from entering the Wankhede stadium for five years.

"I want to take this opportunity (the win of Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL) to say sorry to everybody at the MCA who I have hurt with my behavior. There is nothing shameful in saying sorry and all I can say now is that I didn’t want anybody to see that side of mine,” said Shah Rukh. 

Shah Rukh has already said sorry to his fans on live television when his team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was celebrating their IPL victory.

This statement of Shah Rukh is a volte-face from his earlier statement where he said that he won’t apologize for his behavior ever. 

"I have already said sorry to my fans and I am saying sorry to everybody at the MCA. Whatever happened there was a mistake and I am not proud of that. This is a proud moment for me and I don't want to finger point," Shah Rukh added. 

It is widely believed that Gauri Khan was primarily responsible for this u-turn of Shah Rukh. It is also expected that chairman of the IPL and BCCI head-honcho, Rajiv Shukla will now mount pressure on Vilasrao Desmukh to revoke the ban. Pressure is also apparently mounting from Desmukh's youngest son, actor Riteish, who is very close to SRK. 

SRK said that he had been eagerly waiting for this victory for years. "I am a man who had been eagerly waiting for so many years and it didn't happen. It is such a proud moment for me. I want everybody to celebrate with me. I am sure everybody in Mumbai is as happy as everybody in Kolkata," the star added. 

Sources say that Shah Rukh is now planning to host a grand party at Mannat for his friends in Bollywood when he lands in Mumbai with the IPL cup. A tête-à-tête with the Mumbai media with a sumptuous lunch is also on the cards.  

However, it is not clear whether Shah Rukh will be meeting Vilasrao Deshmukh.