Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta rubbishes claims that her players 'threw away' IPL matches
Preity Zinta, co-owner of the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab has vehemently denied reports that had claimed her saying that some of the team’s players might have been involved in suspicious activity, The Hindustan Times reports. She stated the reports as “completely false” and added that she was very proud of her team and will not tolerate any queries on the team’s integrity.
The angry response was prompted by a report in The Indian Express that claimed Zinta telling BCCI officials that she suspected some of her team members were deliberately underperforming.
She also indicated that match-fixing was prevalent as predictions by some people around her about the outcome of some matches involving her team turned out to be true.
Preity Zinta’s studies in psychology
According to the daily, Zinta cited her study of psychology had allowed her to read the mind of players and understand their body language better than most. Based on her intuition, she had confronted players who she thought were involved in suspicious activities and even dropped them for some matches or from the team as well in some cases. She also claimed that she had warned the other IPL franchises about these players.
When asked about why she didn’t report the incidents before to the board, Zinta claimed that she didn’t have any solid proof and that they could only prevent such players from talking to suspicious individuals or keep tabs on their movements. However, she also added that the board’s anti-corruption unit were ineffective in curbing the menace from their end.
Will not tolerate slander towards KXIP: Zinta
The report raised eyebrows expectedly and Zinta was quick to respond to the claims in an attempt to quash the rumours. She took to social media to deny the claims completely.
“This piece of article is completely false, libel per say, inaccurate and an irresponsible piece of journalism,” Zinta said in a Facebook post. “I really would like to know who these sources are in this story?”
“I am very proud to be part of KXIPWe have the best team & support staff & under No circumstance will I tolerate slander towards me or my team, specially when it comes to our Integrity. I will sincerely appreciate it, if responsible media do not try to damage our reputation & business by fueling this false article,” she said.