Leaving behind the bitter-sweet vibes he shared with Sourav Ganguly in the past, Bollywood hero Shah Rukh Khan Saturday rated the former India captain among the country's "greatest" cricketers.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Shah Rukh called Ganguly the "coolest cricketer ever produced" and a "hero for me".

"Beyond IPL and beyond the bits and pieces, Sourav Ganguly is without any argument among the greatest of cricketers this country has ever produced. We can never take that away from him, " said Shah Rukh, who co-owns the Indian Premier League franchisee Kolkata Knight Riders of which Ganguly was a part for the first three years.

"He is the coolest cricketer ever produced. He is a hero for me. With him at the helm, we put up our team together, " he said.

However, SRK blamed "situations and circumstances" for the divorce between KKR and Ganguly.

"It was due to situations and circumstances that happened, unfortunately a couple of years ago he did not play for us, " he said.

Shah Rukh said Ganguly was like a brother to him.

"If he's free, we would like to invite him to watch our matches at the Eden Gardens and cheer the boys...I wish him all the best in any endeavour."