Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) owner Preity Zinta finally broke her silence on a quote attributed to her in the media regarding former Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma in which she allegedly stated that she would do everything possible to bring the talismanic batter to her side.

 

She has now described the quote as “fake, baseless, and in bad taste”.

“Fake news! All these articles are completely fake & baseless. I hold Rohit Sharma in very high regard & am a big fan of his, but I have never discussed him in any interview nor made this STATEMENT!” Preity Zinta wrote in her statement posted on her X account.

 

“I also have a lot of respect for Shikhar Dhawan & he being currently injured, makes these articles appear in very poor taste. These articles are a perfect example of how misinformation is picked up without any verification & circulated online. I humbly request all Media to refrain from circulating this & embarrassing all concerned parties?? All I want to say is that we have a great team currently & our only focus is to win games & make the most out of IPL2024,” the Bollywood starlet added. 

Previously, Punjab Kings (PBKS) termed the reported remarks made by Preity Zinta about Rohit Sharma as “baseless.”

 

The clarification from Punjab Kings came after Preity Zinta's rumored remarks on Rohit Sharma went viral on social media.

“I will bet my life to get Rohit Sharma if he comes in mega auction. We are only missing a captain in our team who brings on some stability and champion mindset,” Preity Zinta was quoted as saying by an X user. 

It is worth remembering that Rohit Sharma was sacked from the leadership of Mumbai Indians ahead of the ongoing edition of the IPL, with the franchise's management appointing Hardik Pandya to helm the side in his place.

 

Since then speculation has been rife about Rohit Sharma's next move, with fans urging him to leave the Mumbai Indians, a team he led for a decade, helping them win five trophies in the elite T20 competition.

 

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was back in his old avatar of skipper in his last IPL game for the Mumbai Indians.

 

Not only did Rohit Sharma marshal his troops well, but played a crucial role in guiding the Mumbai Indians to a third win in seven matches in the current edition of the IPL.

 

After putting 192/7 on the board and rattling the opposition's top order, thanks to Jasprit Bumrah's two early wickets, Mumbai Indians were on course to secure a comprehensive win over the Punjab Kings before Ashutosh Sharma's sensational knock of 61 off 28 balls put the Punjab Kings back in contention.

 

As the visitors began to lose their grip on the game, Rohit Sharma took over captaincy duties from Hardik Pandya and even when he returned to the field, it was the former who was largely involved in setting up the fields for the Punjab Kings' batters.

 

His return to captaincy albeit for a brief period was much appreciated by former Team India spinner Harbhajan Singh.

“The one good thing I saw today – Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were consulting each other. In the last two overs, I saw Rohit Sharma was captaining Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma was setting the field, talking to the bowlers and was back in his old avatar as a skipper. Mumbai Indians ended up winning the game but there is a long road ahead for them and it is not going to be easy,” Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.