KKR cricketing brains behind Ganguly ouster: Shah Rukh

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) Kolkata Knight Riders'' co-ownerShah Rukh Khan today said leaving out former India captainSourav Ganguly from the team was a decision taken by the"cricketing brains" of the franchise and not by him.

Ganguly, who captained KKR in the inaugural and 2009season, was completely ignored in two rounds of players''auction for the fourth edition starting April 8.

The snub to the flamboyant batsman triggered angryprotests in Kolkata. Khan pleaded with the fans to understandthe compulsions behind the decision.

"It''s with very heavy heart that such decisions aretaken. I don''t do cricketing decisions anymore because in thefirst year when I did it, I have not done very well," Khansaid.

"I feel very sad for my team, for the city that my teamrepresents. I feel very sad for the state. I feel very bad formy children. So all the decisions are now taken by thecricketing brains. The main aim is to perform well since inthe last three years we have performed badly and I am surethat Dada also wishes that we do well," he added.

Khan said the team, which has bought Gautam Gambhir formind boggling Rs 11 crore, cannot be about one individual.

"Dada is like my younger brother. The team does notconsist of one or two people. It is a team of 20. We used tofeel very bad about our loss. We have even cried when wedidn''t win in India as well as in South Africa.

"We only want to win the championship for Kolkata. We allwant to do that including Dada. We have to put sadness, issuesand thoughts behind sometimes to achieve a goal. We all haveto make some sacrifices we understand that," he told ''TimesNow''.

Khan said the controversies should now end and KKR shouldbe allowed to function smoothly.

"In season one, we had a lot of controversies and in thethird IPL season, we had so many problems so my message toeveryone is to give me a chance to run KKR withoutcontroversies. Let me play the game with the spirit of thegame," he said.