Ross Taylor discloses IPL franchise owner slapped him
Ex-New Zealander batsman Ross Taylor says he was "slapped" by one of the owners of the Rajasthan Royals franchise during the 2011 IPL season, cricket website Cricinfo brought in on Saturday.
The surprising revelation lies in the newly published autobiography of Ross Taylor: Black & White.
He said the incident occurred as a result of a defeat against the Punjabi XI Kings in Mohali.
According to the extract, published on a New Zealand website, the Royals of Rajasthan were pursuing 195 in the match. Taylor was off to a duck and his side lost.
“Subsequently, the team, support staff, and management were in the bar on the hotel’s top floor. Liz Hurley was in attendance with Warnie [Shane Warne]. One of the owners of the Royals said to me, “Ross, we didn’t pay you a million dollars to get a duck and slapped in my face three or four times,” wrote Taylor.
The report, citing Taylor’s autobiography, claimed that the owner, who was unnamed, was laughing. “… they were not slaps in the face, but I’m not sure it was all about the game. Under the circumstances, I wasn’t going to make it a problem, but I couldn’t imagine that this would happen in many professional sports environments.”
Royals have yet to issue a statement in response, said the Cricinfo report.