IPL 2025 Fact Check: Did PBKS owner Preity Zinta humiliate Rishabh Pant with 'Big Performer, Big Name' Controversy?

A fresh controversy has erupted in the IPL 2025 regarding a comment on Punjab Kings owner Preity Zinta, which alleged a dig towards Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant.

An X user claimed on Saturday that Preity Zinta and PBKS went after Shreyas Iyer over Rishabh Pant because they wanted a big performer, rather than a big name.

Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were part of Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals, respectively in IPL 2024. In the mega auction, Iyer was sold to PBKS for Rs 26.75 crore, while Pant was sold to LSG for Rs 27 crore - thus he became the most expensive player in the history of IPL.

Punjab Kings had the biggest purse coming into the auction but decided to bid for Iyer, while leaving out Pant. Soon after joining Lucknow, Pant said on an interview that he was worried about going to Punjab Kings, with a grin in his face.

"I had just one tension, that was Punjab...." Pant said at an interview, clearly denoting he was not interested in joining them.

Preity Zinta takes dig at Rishabh Pant?

On that note, the X user wrote PBKS owner Preity Zinta was interested in signing Shreyas Iyer only, and had no intention to buy Pant, who is apparently just a 'Big Name'.

"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 post wrote on X, quoting Preity Zinta.

Fact Check: Preity Zinta confirms the Fake Quote, She Never Said It

Preity Zinta was quick to act against the post, as she commented that it was fake news. The PBKS owner confirmed she has never uttered such words, and it was nothing but part of clickbait and fake news.

Punjab Kings are currently sitting 2nd in the points table with 10 points in seven matches. On the other hand, LSG are currently 5th, with 8 points in seven matches.