Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, May 12
It seems controversies and Kings XI Punjab go hand in hand. If the side is not in the news for poor performance, it’s almost invariably caught up with some unwarranted off-the-field scandal. The latest addition to the long list of controversies the Punjab outfit has endured over a decade is an alleged tiff between team co-owner Preity Zinta and mentor Virender Sehwag. Preity reportedly entered into a heated argument with Sehwag over his decision to send in skipper Ravichandran Ashwin at No. 3 in their last game against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, which they lost by 15 runs.
The franchisee, however, on Friday trashed the report saying a “frank debate” was being “highlighted in a negative manner”.
“The culture in Kings XI is one that is open and non-hierarchical, and is one which encourages open and frank debate by one and all across all levels with the common goal of continuous improvement,” the franchisee said in a press statement.
“It is unfortunate that this open and transparent culture has been misconstrued and highlighted in a negative manner, so as to tarnish and damage our image as well as that of the IPL,” the statement added.
Preity also took to Twitter to discard the allegations and slammed the newspaper that carried the report of the alleged tiff. “Mumbai Mirror gets it wrong again because we didn’t do Media net & pay them to write articles… A conversation between Viru & me has been blown out of proportion & suddenly I’m a Villian! Wow!”
However, the incident is not an isolated one. In 2016, Preity reportedly came down heavily on then KXIP coach Sanjay Bangar and even threatened to sack him after the team’s one-run loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali.
