With the mess in Indian hockey showing no signs of clearing up, Olympian Aslam Sher Khan said Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi should request Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan to manage the affairs of the national game.

"Soon after independence, Jawaharlal Nehru made JRD Tata the first president of Indian Hockey Federation and he was in that post for 10 years. Similarly, Rahul can persuade Shah Rukh to take charge of the affairs of Hockey India," Sher Khan said.

"If the film star gets associated with hockey, the game would get a big boost. His name would be big enough to help the national game," he said.

Sher Khan said Shah Rukh's father was a hockey player and the actor, who portrayed the role of women's team coach Kabir Khan in Chak De India, had also played the game during his college days.

"Chak De India was based on hockey and Shah Rukh himself knows the game," he said.

The former Congress MP said hockey lost to cricket in popularity after India's 1983 World Cup triumph in England. "Hockey has been India's pride but it declined after India won the cricket World Cup in 1983," Sher Khan said.