"Some Highly Placed Person Had Pulled A Few Strings" - Ross Taylor On Taj Mahal Trip During Delhi Daredevils' Days

Former New Zealand cricketer Ross Taylor played for Delhi Daredevils for a 3-year period from 2012-2014. He couldn’t make much of an impact on the games and was let go from the franchise after the end of his contract.

Recalling those days in his book – ‘Ross Taylor: Black & White’, Taylor said that a certain trip to the Taj Mahal was etched in his mind as the DD owners had pulled a few strings to get the players to the famous monument.

“There were 11 of us and the jet could only take nine, so Kiran (son of GM Rao, IPL franchise owner) provided two of them. The flight took just 22 minutes. There isn’t a civil airport at Agra so we flew into a military base: some highly placed person had obviously pulled a few strings,” revealed Taylor.

“The whole episode still annoys Victoria” – Ross Taylor on misidentification of his manager

Taylor’s manager, Leanne McGoldrick, was on the same trip with the players. After she was spotted with Taylor, the media began circulating pictures of the duo as a couple, which bugs his wife, Victoria, even today.

“The next day the Times of India ran a photo of Leanne McGoldrick (Taylor’s then manager) and me on the seat Diana, Princess of Wales, sat on in that famous shot. The caption was – Ross Taylor with wife Leanne at the Taj Mahal.”

“The whole episode still annoys Victoria and I just can’t help winding her up. Every time we see the Taj on the news or in a brochure or whatever, I wax lyrical about how fabulous it was,” he also mentioned.

Taylor played for 3 franchises – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, and Delhi Daredevils before his IPL career ended in 2014.

Also Read – Cheteshwar Pujara Registers 2nd Consecutive Century In The Royal London One-Day Cup 2022