3 min readMumbaiMar 8, 2026 03:00 PM IST
Juhi Chawla’s daughter Jhanhvi Mehta is an avid cricket buff to an extent that she’s now an active co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Indian Premier League co-owned by her parents — businessman Jay Mehta and Juhi — and Shah Rukh Khan. She was quite involved in the IPL Auctions 2026 in December last year, where she was all praise for rising New Zealand cricketer Finn Allen.
“So, Finn Allen, I watched him in MLC (Major League Cricket) in Oakland (California, US) actually, where he was playing for the San Francisco Unicorns, when he smacked us around the field that day. I still remember that,” said Jhanvi, right after the 2026 IPL Auction. She added that she’s been observing Allen’s cricketing journey for years before pursuing him to join KKR in the upcoming edition of IPL.
“I’ve seen him for years now, when he’s been coming, playing for New Zealand, also playing for RCB (Royal Challengers Bengaluru). Never really had a long run in the IPL, but just the way he’s lit up world cricket this year, I think it’s a testament to his potential and we’re seeing glimpses of what he can bring. His ceiling is one of the highest in the world in terms of explosiveness,” said Jhanvi Mehta.
She expressed her excitement about what Finn Allen would bring to KKR this IPL. “In the past, when we’ve been successful, we’ve had an explosive opening pair, and he’s definitely going to be a big part of that, or at least in the top three. He’s going to add a lot of dynamism and explosiveness that maybe we didn’t have last year. So, very excited about him,” added Jhanvi.
Finn Allen’s brilliance on the cricket field was on display earlier this week when he opened for New Zealand and powered the Kiwis into the T20 World Cup final with the fastest ever hundred of the tournament. South Africa had entered the semifinal as the in-form side of the tournament, being the only unbeaten team in the competition with seven successive wins. The Proteas had even defeated New Zealand in the group stage and also toppled tournament hosts and favourites India in the Super Eights.
But New Zealand were at their ruthless best as they knocked out the last edition’s runners-up from the semifinal with a nine-wicket win that came with 43 balls to spare at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. Finn Allen slammed a 33-ball unbeaten 100 on the same day, emerging as the Man of the Match, beating Chris Gayle’s record in the process. Before he opens for KKR in IPL starting March 28, he’ll first open for his home team New Zealand in the much-anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final against Team India today at 7 pm in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
