On Wednesday, April 3, Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan flew all the way to Kolkata for the first IPL match. An excited Sonakshi also posted a picture with her co-stars, however, the excitement did not seem to last too long.

According to sources, the trio who attended the match wearing identical t-shirts that read 'Once upon a Time in IPL' were completely ignored on camera.

The three of them were seated in a VIP box close to the owners of the team, however, none of the photographers paid attention to them. They were seen cheering and waving out to fans, but the camera crew stayed put by not capturing any of it.

As per the IPL code of conduct, they take a strict view of surrogate advertising. And since the three of them were clearly present to promote their film, the IPL crew could not give them the needed the attention.

On the other hand, some reports even claim that it was Shah Rukh Khan who with his contacts kept Akshay away from the limelight so that he was restricted from promoting his film which clashes with SRK's film 'Chennai Express'.

Now, we wonder if this was professional rivalry or just the IPL rules.