Travel back in time to the 2016 Indian Premier League, when co-owner Preity Zinta of Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings) was said to have quarreled with coach Sanjay Bangar.
There were rumors that Zinta threatened Bangar’s job in front of the players, causing him to be intimidated. An interesting twist to the story is that Bangar is now the franchise’s head of cricket development, notwithstanding the event.
In 2014, Bangar, who had started the season as an assistant coach, was elevated to the position of head coach. His efforts paid off, as Punjab achieved their best-ever result in the lucrative league by finishing as runners-up.
Up until 2016, the former Indian batter remained employed by the team in the same role. However, after being named the national team’s batting coach, he was forced to resign from the position due to a conflict of interest.
Preity Zinta’s Punjab was defeated by a single run against RCB in the IPL 2016:
Recall the incident from the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), wherein Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings) co-owner Preity Zinta is accused of intimidating then-coach Sanjay Bangar.
According to an article published in the Mumbai Mirror on May 12, 2016, Preity was upset after Punjab lost their home match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by just one run. In front of the players and support personnel, she allegedly threatened to fire Bangar.
The newspaper was informed by an eyewitness to the incident that the Bollywood star frequently used the F-word during her outburst. It is alleged that she was offended by Farhaan Behardien’s decision to take precedence over Axar Patel and blamed Bangar for the team’s defeat.
“It was a long monologue with a four-letter word being used liberally. Everybody was stunned as Preity repeatedly threatened to sack Sanjay. Nobody spoke a word. Sanjay cut a sorry figure, which was sad because he was surrounded by young players and the support staff he was supposed to lead. It was rather unbecoming of the team owner,” said a source who was witness to the incident.
However, it has been claimed that both Preity and Coach Bangar have disputed that the incident occurred.
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