Agencies
NEW DELHI: West Indies’ Chris Gayle, the world’s biggest hitter of cricket ball who is playing for Kings XI Punjab in the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL), says he wants to win this year’s trophy for actress Preity Zinta who is the co-owner of the team.
The 38-year-old cricketer, who is on a roll, said in a newspaper interview that two things are his priority now.
“Just two things: winning the IPL this year and the World Cup for West Indies next year. I believe West Indies have a big chance of winning the World Cup in 2019. I know we struggled in the qualifiers but now that we’ve made it, our next aim is to win it.
“But right now it’s definitely the IPL. KXIP have never won it. Our owner Preity Zinta is so fantastic, so enthusiastic. The way she roots for her players is just amazing and I think she needs to lift the IPL trophy this year.”
Preity, 43 who married American financial analyst Gene Goodenough in 2016, bought the IPl franchisee with her then boyfriend Ness Wadia in 2008.
The dimpled Bollywood actress started dating Wadia in 2005. After years of dating, their relationship went downhill when it was reported in 2009 that Ness Wadia slapped Preity Zinta at a party.
In 2013, the actress admitted that they had broken up and in June 2014 she filed a complaint with police against her former lover, alleging molestation and abuse by Ness Wadia.
In her complaint against Wadia, the actress said she had been in a relationship with him for 10 years. “During that time he tried to abuse me and used extremely derogatory language and tried to behave in a manner where I was put to shame in front of my colleagues, friends and family.”
She added that “ Ness Wadia has gone to the extent of threatening me with dire consequences and intimidating me by boasting of his political clout and connections.”
In this connection, the actress mentioned what happened between her and Ness Wadia on the evening of the match on May 30, 2014 at Wankhede Stadium. “Mr Ness Wadia had intimidated me by saying that he could make me disappear as I was a nobody and only an actress and he’s a powerful person. I say that I have been tried to be very normal and nice to him as I wanted peace in my life, but the recent afore-stated incident in Mumbai at the Wankhede stadium has left me shattered and fear for my life.”
She married Gene Goodenough in 2016.
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