Bollywood actor and Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta has termed a media report, which alleged she had a verbal altercation with the Indian Premier League franchise's team mentor Virender Sehwag, as fake news. The report had said that Preity was upset about the tactics employed by Sehwag in the team's 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Tuesday night and that she had a heated exchange with the former Indian opener after the match. It even stated that Sehwag may part ways with Kings XI at the end of this IPL season.
But Preity denied the allegations on Friday and made it clear that the conversation was blown out of proportion. "Mumbai Mirror gets it wrong again because we didn't do Media net & pay them to write articles cuz that's the only time they get it right. A conversation between Viru & me has been blown out of proportion & suddenly I'm a Villian ! Wow ! #fakenews," she wrote on her Twitter handle.
Later, Kings XI also released a statement saying, "This is in response to the media articles that have been published in the last couple of days on the supposed disagreement which was reported after Kings XI's last game. The stories have led to a lot of speculation and we at Kings XI Punjab would like to clearly state that as part of our management process, (as well as other franchisees) we review our performance on and off the field after each game through both, formal and informal discussions.
"This is part of our standard operations review process which helps us to analyse our results and allow us to focus on the improvement required after each game, both on and off the field so that we can continue to improve in all aspects. 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.
"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 release stated.
Kings XI, who have lost three of their last four games, are in third spot in the eight-team league with 12 points from 10 games. They host Kolkata Knight Riders in a crucial match in Indore on Saturday. The top four teams make it to the play-offs.
