Ross Taylor, in his autobiography, claimed that a Rajasthan Royals owner slapped him during the 2011 Indian Premier League season (IPL). The Kiwi was a part of the franchise for one year. He then shifted bases to the Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors India. 

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The New Zealand batter’s autobigraphy, ‘Ross Taylor: Black & White, was published on August 11. In the book, the now-retired star made revelations about racism in the national team. He also claimed that he was slapped after getting out for a duck in the IPL. 

Taylor said that a Rajasthan Royals owner, who is not named, slapped him after a defeat against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali.

“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.

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“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 I’m 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 franchise is yet to respond to the claim. 

Ross Taylor, who spent three years with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2008 to 2010, further added that he wished he had stayed with the M. Chinnaswami-based outfit. The 38-year-old was bought by Rajasthan for $1 million at the auction. 

“While it was amazing to go for a million dollars, in the long run I would’ve been better off if RCB had got me for US$950,000,” Taylor wrote.

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“If they had, it would have been my fourth year with them. While the IPL is pretty unsentimental, there is loyalty towards long-serving players and I probably would have had a longer IPL career as a one-franchise player. On the other hand, if I’d stayed at RCB, I wouldn’t have played with greats such as Virender Sehwag, Shane Warne, Mahela Jayawardene and Yuvraj Singh.”

The Kiwi great played 12 games for Royals in 2011, scoring 181 runs at a strike rate of 119. He was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit after retiring from international cricket in 2022. 

“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,” he wrote in the book.