IPL 2017: Preity Zinta game for open auction in 2018

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IPL 2018: Open auction likely

 

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MOHALI: Trust Preity Zinta to speak her mind. The Kings XI Punjab co-owner set the ball rolling by revealing that it could be an open auction for the 2018 IPL season which means no team will be able to retain any players. "It was meant to be an open auction without retention. We have been told about it. I will welcome it if BCCI decides to go for an open auction," Zinta told TOI on Sunday.

Zinta, however, clarifies that she wasn't unhappy with her current squad. "It doesn't mean that I am not happy with my team. I think, we have a great team. The teams which are doing well are the ones where the young Indian players are performing," Preity said.

When asked if she would be open to regularly shifting a few home matches to other venues to maximize profits, Preity admitted that she was not averse to the idea as she was 'tired of distributing free match passes.' "In the middle of the tournament, I can't be talking about shifting our home matches to some other profitable venue. But I am quite tired distributing tickets like this. This is business and while I appreciate the backing of all our fans, it's really difficult If I have to keep distributing free tickets to administrators and honestly then it doesn't matter whether we play all our matches in Mohali or somewhere else." She also had a word of praise for her team's coach Virender Sehwag."We have an unbelievable coach in Virender Sehwag. He is dynamic, helpful and extremely chilled out. He also has a super cricketing brain which makes him a very special coach," she gushed.

Zinta also spoke about how the league was able to bring out the passion of the Indian fans. "When we played the Mumbai game, the fans were shouting at the top of their voice when Sehwag came out on the field. The atmosphere was electric. Similarly, the fans in Mohali cheered for AB de Villiers last year. It is fun seeing how the Indian fans appreciate good cricket."