One of RR owners slapped me 3-4 times: Taylor’s explosive claim

NEW DELHI: In a stunning revelation, former New Zealand batter Ross Taylor has claimed that he was slapped by one of the owners of Rajasthan Royals franchise during the 2011 season of the IPL.

The Kiwi said that he was slapped by the franchise’s owner after he was dismissed for a duck during a game against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Mohali.

Taylor made the revelation in his new autobiography, Ross Taylor: Black & White.

“The chase was 195, I was lbw for a duck and we didn’t get close,” Taylor wrote in his book, an excerpt of which was published on Stuff.co.nz.

“Afterwards, the team, support staff and management were in the bar on the top floor of the hotel. Liz Hurley was there with Warnie (Shane Warne).

“One of the Royals owners said to me, ‘Ross, we didn’t pay you a million dollars to get a duck,’ and slapped me across the face three or four times. He was laughing and they weren’t hard slaps but ‘not sure that it was entirely play-acting.

“Under the circumstances I wasn’t going to make an issue of it, but I couldn’t imagine it happening in many professional sporting environments.”

The 38-year-old Taylor played for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008 to 2010 and was with RR in 2011. He also represented Delhi Capitals, then called Delhi Daredevils, as well as the now-defunct Pune Warriors India.

“When you fetch that sort of money, you’re desperately keen to prove that you’re worth it. And those who are paying you that sort of money have high expectations – that’s professional sport and human nature.

“I’d paid my dues at RCB: if I’d had a lean trot, the management would have had faith in me because of what I’d done in the past. When you go to a new team, you don’t get that backing.

“You never feel comfortable because you know that if you go two or three games without a score, you come under cold-eyed scrutiny.”