It was reported earlier that Preity Zinta had threatened to fire Kings XI Punjab coach. However, rubbishing all reports of the actress losing her cool after a recent loss of the team, Preity released an official statement:
“A perfect example of How Journalists LIE BLATANTLY & should be sued for DEFAMATION ! For the record I do have manners & I did go to school so Mr. Vijay Tagore either apologize or bring forward ur so called Source as you are guilty of slander. I most definitely DID NOT be disrespectful to our coach nor abuse any one & definitely did not use the FOUR LETTER WORD. Your story reeks of SEXISM and is incorrect & exaggerated beyond words.
I did speak to Veeru & Sanjay for exactly 20 seconds and asked why Axe did not bat after which I congratulated Virat Kohli & spoke to him briefly as he walked up to me. After which I proceeded to have a chat with Shane Watson & then left the ground with my husband & In Laws as we were in one car & I was disappointed.
Sanjay & I BOTH have DENIED this story STILL it gets Printed. I am fed up of this nonsense & negativity. Just because our judicial system is slow some Indian Journalists time and again use it to write ANY & EVERYTHING & make soft targets of celebrities. Mumbai Mirror has been in the forefront of writing stories which are factually incorrect time & again & it’s getting both alarming & disgusting.
Also I’m amazed at the chauvinist & sexist undertone to your article. Just because I am a woman you presume me to be a bimbo & know nothing about Cricket even though I have been working in this sport and business for the past 9 years. For the record I do know more about the game than you do about journalism. My question to you is – would you have written the same thing if you were writing about another man in cricket ?
So now either Mr. Vijay should prove this story true of face the consequences ?? If I did not speak to the coach on the ground for more than 20 seconds then how can this story be true?”