Calcutta: Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s appearance in an exhibition match in Bhandara in the middle of an important series has raised quite a few eyebrows. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, maintained that they did nothing wrong by allowing the players to participate.

Dhoni, along with pacers Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh, on Sunday managed to come out unscathed from a near stampede situation after the exhibition match. They had gone to inaugurate a cricket academy named after civil aviation minister Praful Patel’s father.

Hundreds of local fans, who gathered to have a glimpse of their heroes, rushed on to the ground posing a serious security hazard for the players and raising questions whether adequate security was in place.

The players left for Bhandara from Rajkot where they had thumped England by 158 runs in the first ODI.

A visibly peeved Dhoni refused to comment on his appearance in the chaotic exhibition match before the second one-dayer against England. “We are talking about tomorrow’s match. Ask the BCCI,” he retorted when queried on the subject during the match-eve press conference in Indore.

BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty didn’t find anything wrong with their participation. “We had given them the necessary permission. We don’t need to explain anything more to anyone…” Shetty told The Telegraph.

Former India opener Chetan Chauhan questioned the logic behind sending the players for the function. “How were they allowed to go without ascertaining the security arrangements? How were they allowed to go when a series is on?” he wondered.

“There is nothing wrong in attending such a programme. It was for a charitable cause. They had taken prior permission and enough security measures were in place,” BCCI finance committee chairman Rajeev Shukla said.

Dhoni, meanwhile, hit back at Matthew Hayden for his “third world” remarks and said the Aussies are always slow in going through their overs, no matter which part of the world they play.

“The Australians have played all over the world and their over-rate has been slow all over the world,” was Dhoni’s sarcastic comment.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram had also hit back at Hayden for his comments and his excuses for his team’s not maintaining the required over-rate in Nagpur. The slow over-rate had cost the Australians dear at a crucial stage of the fourth and final Test when they were not able to use their frontline fast bowlers.

Akram said the Aussies were “sore losers” and that Hayden should have known that India was now hundred years ahead of Australia “which is no more than a village”.