Despite the moderate success of Dum Maaro Dum, Abhishek Bachchan is not so confident about facing Shah Rukh Khan.

Viacom 18 wanted to release their ambitious Abhishek starrer Players against SRK's humungous Don 2 during the Christmas weekend, but apparently, the actor requested them to postpone the release of the film. It seems he doesn't want to pitch the film into any hurdle like that.

Players, an official remake of Italian Job, is Abbas Mustan's first film after Race. It is also a very important film for Abhishek, considering his drooping career. "While Players is one of the most expensive movies he has been a part of, he is hoping for a big turn in his career. Needless to say, he wants the film to have the best of chances," says the source.

So in all probability, Players will release early next year. "The month of December is pretty packed with big films, both from Hollywood and Bollywood. Agent Vinod is aiming for an early December release and then there are films like Mission Impossible 4 and Sherlock Holmes, prequels of which have done extremely well in India. And all these are action thrillers too," adds the source.

However, Viacom 18 officials preferred not to respond to our queries.

Players has been directed by Abbas Mustan and also stars Neil Nitin Mukesh, Sikandar Kher, Aftab Shivdasani, Sonam Kapoor and Bipasha Basu.

- Timesofindia