India star reveals how Preity Zinta manipulated massive IPL match result
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Punjab Kings co-owner Preity Zinta is often seen as one of the most highly engaging owners in the IPL, while former PBKS paceman Sandeep Sharma has revealed how she honoured his performance back in 2017 as she convinced broadcaster Ravi Shastri to award him as the Player of the Match instead of the originally selected Axar Patel.
IPL has always been a controversial platform over the years. There have been several incidents that marked ill practices, and such allegations have taken over several big personalities. Such a claim has been made on PBKS owner Preity Zinta as well.
Former PBKS pacer reveals massive incident involving Preity Zinta
Former Punjab Kings pacer, now starring for Rajasthan Royals, recently appeared on a chat show on Cricktracker and recalled how franchise owner Preity Zinta influenced the decision over the Player of the Match selection and coined him as the POTM instead of another teammate.
This incident has been narrated by Sandeep Sharma, and it dates back to 2017. He narrated that it was the 43rd match of the IPL season at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and Kings posted a modest 138 on the board, with Axar Patel doing the majority of the scoring, 38 runs off just 17 balls.
Axar, who also picked two wickets, was dubbed the original Player of the Match for his all-round brilliance; however, the owner had then intervened, claiming the award for the pacer. The broadcaster Ravi Shastri even accepted the proposal and awarded him as the POTM for his 3 big wickets in the game.
The incident dates back to 2017, when PBKS' honour influenced the POTM award - Winner shares the Flashback
“We were playing a match in Bengaluru against RCB. And I had taken three wickets with the new ball. Virat, ABD and Chris Gayle. So in that match, actually, the Player of the Match was supposed to be Axar Patel, who had also taken two wickets in that match and it was a low-scoring game," Sandeep told Crictracker.
“In the last over, he had scored 25 runs (19 runs) and scored 38 runs (in total). But the Player of the Match was his, if you look at it. So Preity ma’am was there and she told Ravi Shastri there that the Player of the Match should be Sandy, he has picked three big wickets."
"And actually, they gave me the Player of the Match. That was one sweet thing. And I actually went and offered it to Axar. But he told me that these three wickets were very important. Otherwise, 138 runs wouldn’t have been defended anywhere," he added.
Preity Zinta was delighted by PBKS' IPL 2025 dominance despite the Final disappointment
Zinta was spotted during Punjab Kings' successful run in IPL 2025, where they won several group stage matches in stunning fashion and reached the final of the IPL for the second time.
The duo of Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer set the stage on fire as the coach-captain duo produced wonders for PBKS, and it started at the auction table itself, where Preity Zinta was also present. However, they still remain in the quest for their maiden IPL title.
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IPL Preity Zinta Ravi Shastri Punjab Kings Sandeep Sharma Axar Patel India National Cricket Team
