'No hard feelings'

It’s bad manners to eavesdrop but when you spot English player Kevin Pietersen talking to his ex-boss Vijay Mallya over drinks and dinner, you just cannot help yourself.
   Metrolife spotted the duo with some other guests at the ITC Gardenia’s coffee shop where Kevin seemed to be more than happy to meet the King of Good Times.

   When Metrolife approached the ex-Bangalore Royal Challenger, he immediately said, “Sorry, I’m in between a business meeting.” That’s when the reporters hung around and decided to find out why Vijay Mallya, one of the busiest men in town, decided to make time to meet Kevin.    

The meeting went on for a long time in hushed tones but it was when Siddhartha Mallya walked in that the party really started. Claiming that he had just gone to see some new cricket kits, Siddhartha immediately settled in next to Kevin and exchanged pleasantries. Kevin and some of the women sitting at the table with them immediately referred to the amount of weight that Siddhartha had lost. “You look so thin and weak, at this rate you will soon disappear,” said one of the women. To which Siddhartha said, “Hey, If I can run the ‘Mumbai Marathon’, I think I am fit enough to run any marathon now.”

As the evening progressed, many cricket players started coming down for an early dinner and that’s when Kevin and Siddhartha spotted Virat Kohli. A lot of heads turned when both of them called out to him using a Hindi swear word. The visibly embarrassed Kohli came and greeted the crowd. “So all set for the big day Virat?” asked Vijay Mallya. Virat smiled and nodded his head. Declining a bottle of beer, he sat for a few minutes and then excused himself from the gathering. Conversations ranged from how London has changed, Bangalore rains to Jacques Kallis. There were comments flying around about the IPL. Kevin’s phone kept ringing but the player either ignored the calls or told the person on the line that he was busy. But there was still no clue on why the meeting was taking place. It was then Siddhartha broke the ice and told Kevin, “Hey, I just wanted to say sorry, brother, we couldn’t take you in the team this time. The bar was raised too high by the time your name was called at the auction.” To which Kevin said, “It’s a pity. But there are no hard feelings.”

Looks like all it took was a dinner and some good  moments with old friends to clear all misunderstandings.