'This Is FAKE NEWS' - PBKS owner Preity Zinta rubbishes false Rishabh Pant claim

Punjab Kings (PBKS) co-owner Preity Zinta has pointed out that misinformation is circulating on social media about the franchise's IPL 2025 auction strategy. Responding to a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), Zinta labelled the claims as fake news, putting an end to speculation about the team choosing Shreyas Iyer over Rishabh Pant due to performance-based preferences.

The controversy began when an X user alleged that Zinta and the PBKS management had picked Iyer over Pant, on terms of a big performer, not a big name. The post cited a fake quote by Zinta.

"Rishabh Pant had said in an interview that I could go anywhere but not to Punjab Kings. But now Punjab owner Preity Zinta exposed Rishabh Pant and said, WE HAD BOTH RISHABH PANT AND SHREYAS IYER- OPTIONS WE COULD HAVE TAKEN IN THE TEAM. BUT WE WANTED A BIG PERFORMER, NOT A BIG NAME...SO WE TOOK SHREYAS IYER IN THE TEAM," the user wrote.

However, the PBKS owner responded to the claims and called the fake. "I’m so sorry but this is FAKE NEWS" she wrote.

Gurlabh Singh@gurlabhsingh610

Rishabh Pant had said in an interview that I could go anywhere but not to Punjab Kings. But now Punjab owner Preity Zinta exposed Rishabh Pant and said, "WE HAD BOTH RISHABH PANT AND SHREYAS IYER- OPTIONS WE COULD HAVE TAKEN IN THE TEAM. BUT WE WANTED A BIG PERFORMER, NOT A BIG

Preity G Zinta@realpreityzinta

@gurlabhsingh610 I’m so sorry but this is FAKE NEWS !

12:06 PM · Apr 19, 2025

5.6K587

The IPL 2025 auction saw record-breaking bids for both players. While Pant was bought by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping INR 27 crore, Iyer went to Punjab Kings for INR 26.75 crore.

Pant has faced criticism for his underwhelming form, scoring only 103 runs in seven innings with just one half-century which came against Chennai Super Kings. The rest of his outings have been forgettable, including two ducks.

On the other hand, Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the IPL title last year, was named captain of PBKS. He has been instrumental in Punjab's success this season, scoring 257 runs in seven matches, including a 97* and guiding the team to the second spot on the points table.

PBKS are coming off a solid win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in a rain-shortened 14-over game. After restricting RCB to 95/9, the Kings chased down with five wickets.