One of Rajasthan Royals owners slapped me across face 3-4 times: Ross Taylor's explosive claim
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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HC questions Delhi govt over failure to regulate sale of old vehicles, refers to Red Fort blast
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court questioned the city government on Wednesday over its failure to regulate the sale and transfer of used vehicles, while pointing out that in a recent bomb blast near the Red Fort, a second-hand car was used, making the issue more significant.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the Delhi government to file a detailed response on the issue of regulating authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
"A car changes four hands but the original owner has not changed. Therefore, what happens? That man (the original owner) goes to the slaughterhouse? What is this? How are you permitting this? You will take a call when two-three more bomb blasts take place?" the bench asked the Delhi government's counsel.
The bomb blast near the iconic Mughal-era monument was carried out using a second-hand car, making the issue even more significant, it said.
The court listed the matter for further hearing in January 2026.
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The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by an organisation, Towards Happy Earth Foundation, highlighting the challenges in the implementation of rules 55A to 55H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, introduced in December 2022 to regulate authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
While the rules were intended to bring accountability to the second-hand vehicle market, the petitioner's counsel argued that they have failed in practice due to regulatory gaps and procedural hurdles.
The plea said there is a major gap in the amended framework, that is, the absence of any statutory mechanism for reporting dealer-to-dealer transfers.
"In reality, most used vehicles pass through multiple dealers before reaching the final buyer, but the rules recognise only the first transfer to the initial authorised dealer.
"As a result, the chain of custody breaks after the first step, defeating the very purpose of accountability," the petition said.
It added that because of these gaps, only a very small percentage of dealers across India have been able to obtain authorised dealer registration and in Delhi, not a single dealer has got it.
Consequently, lakhs of vehicles continue to circulate without any record of who is actually in possession of those, it said.
The plea said only a small fraction of India's estimated 30,000 to 40,000 used-vehicle dealers are registered under the authorised-dealer framework.
The petition also pointed out that the 11-year-old vehicle used in the November 10 bomb blast near the Red Fort was sold several times but was still registered in its original owner's name.
The blast near the Red Fort had claimed 15 lives.
