Preity Zinta said that constant gossips about her during the recently concluded Indian Premier League were the only low point for her in the otherwise successful competition.
MUMBAI: Bollywood actress Preity Zinta said that constant gossips about her during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) were the only low point for her in the otherwise successful competition which saw her team, Kings XI Punjab, reaching the semi finals.
"I had left my image as a film star behind and donned a new role when the IPL began. I was never dressed as a film star. Since I was the only woman among the team owners, I wanted people to take me seriously. I am no barbie doll and such rumours which are normally the order of the day on a film set was very demeaning to me as a woman," Preity Zinta,
co-owner of the Kings XI Punjab IPL team told reporters here.
Preity said the rumours disturbed her to no end. "It is only after I started thinking that this has happened because some people are upset that I am happy and successful. I started feeling better and concentrated on my work in a better way," she said.
Describing her experience in the IPL first season, Zinta said hers was a well chosen team which was the crux of its success.
The actress said she has invested hugely in the IPL as an individual. "I was not just a brand ambassador. I worked hard right from bidding, auction and throughout the team's journey, I was present," she added.
She said she was proud of her team's achievements. "The worst day was the semi-finals where we lost. We have a year to prepare for the second season," she said.
Responding to a question about IPL leading to commercialisation of cricket, the actress said more than commercialisation, passion was more important to her.
"We created an atmosphere of friendship among all the players," she added.
The actress said she plans to promote cricket at the grassroot by improving upon the entire system and infrastructure.
"We have Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir as catchment area of Kings XI Punjab. Punjab Cricket Association's President I S Bindra and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal have been very helpful in this endeavour," she said.
Preity said she has no plans to take in more foreign players.
"Many of our international players like Bret Lee, Simon Katich, Ram Naresh Sarwan had to leave for national duties. It affected us but young players like Shaun Marsh and Luke Pomerbach got the opportunity and made the most out of it," she added.
Zinta further said she had left the cricketing decisions to coach Tom Moody while she and co-owners Mohit Burman and Ness Wadia handled the administrative side.
When asked whether her team had made any profits, the actress replied, "We had made huge investments and things are going as the way we had expected".
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