VActors Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty may well have been the faces of their IPL teams — Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals (RR) respectively — but Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar has questioned their role in the franchises.
Manohar said on Monday the names of Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra are not mentioned in the documents of Rajasthan Royals available with the BCCI.
“Their RR shares were sold and transferred to certain individuals and certain companies like Tresco and Blue Waters. Nobody knows what is Blue Waters and what is Tresco. I did not find in the shareholders’ register the names of Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, who claim to be stakeholders,” Manohar said. He also revealed that whenever share transactions take place, it is mandatory for the parties and franchises to inform the BCCI.
“They should also pay us 5% of the transacted amount. We have neither been informed nor paid the amount,” he said.
Shetty expressed surprise at Manohar’s claims. “Woke up and heard on TV that we’re not co-owners of RR! Only want to say there is no doubt that Raj is a stakeholder and I am the brand ambassador,” the actress wrote on her Twitter account.
Manohar also suggested that the bid for Kings XI Punjab was signed only by Preity Zinta, but she had no shares at that time. “She said she will form a consortium with three people - Mohit Burman, one Karan Paul and one other name. When the franchise agreement was signed by her, she did not have a single share in that company. The shares were transferred to her after signing the agreement. Then Gaurav Burman gets in and then the rest,” said Manohar, claiming that prior consent of the BCCI was not sought.
