Ownership of IPL cricket team

In 2008, Khan in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla Mehta and her husband Jay Mehta acquired ownership rights for the franchise representing Kolkata in the Twenty20 cricket tournament Indian Premier League, for a price of $75.09 million ( 3.57 billion), and have since named the team Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR is one the richest team in the IPL and has been ranked as the most valued with a brand value of $42.1 million. Financially, Kolkata Knight Riders are the most profitable and successful franchise in the IPL as well. The team was surrounded with controversy and poor on-field performance through the first three years of the tournament. It's performance, however, improved from the fourth season and they eventually became the IPL champions for the first time in 2012 .

In 9 April 2012, Khan was served a notice by the Rajasthan Police for smoking in public after he was seen smoking on camera during a match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals on 8 April. and in 16 May of the same year he received a five-year ban from the Wankhede Stadium by the Mumbai Cricket Associationfor arguing with security at the ground after a match between his team and The Mumbai Indians. Khan later apologised to his fans after his team won the final match at Chennai on 27 May.