New Delhi, Aug 13: In a stunning revelation, former New Zealand batter Ross Taylor has claimed that he was "slapped" by one of the owners of Rajasthan Royals franchise during the 2011 season of the IPL.

The Kiwi said that he was slapped by the franchise's owner after he was dismissed for a duck during a game against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in Mohali.

Taylor made the revelation in his new autobiography, Ross Taylor: Black & White.

"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.

"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 38-year-old Taylor played for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008 to 2010 and was with RR in 2011. He also represented Delhi Capitals, then called Delhi Daredevils, as well as the now-defunct Pune Warriors India.

"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."

The autobiography made headlines after Taylor claimed he experienced racism during his 16-year career with the New Zealand team.

Taylor, who is of Samoan heritage, had described racist locker room "banter" and casually racist comments from some New Zealand team officials.

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Bengaluru: Star batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are expected to miss the upcoming round of the Ranji Trophy, as both have reportedly informed the BCCI's medical team about carrying injuries. As a result, neither will be able to represent their respective state teams in the next round of the tournament, set to begin on January 23.

According to ESPNCricinfo, Kohli had neck pain and had taken an injection on January 8, three days after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in Sydney. Kohli told the BCCI medical staff that he was still experiencing pain, ruling him out of Delhi's game against Saurashtra in Rajkot.

KL Rahul is still recovering from an elbow niggle and will likely miss Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy match against Punjab. He has conveyed to the BCCI medical staff his concern about the issue, and they are monitoring him currently, PTI reported.

However, both the batters have a chance to play in the season's last final round, starting on January 30.

Meanwhile, the BCCI recently unveiled a stringent set of 10-point disciplinary guidelines. They have made it compulsory for each centrally-contracted player to represent their state teams in domestic cricket to remain eligible for selection in the national team and for central contracts.

The board also stated that if any player is unavailable, he needs permission from the national chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir.