Ravindra Jadeja and Yuvraj Singh

Gros Islet (St Lucia), May 13: Back home, Ravindra Jadeja is probably public enemy No. 1, but he can at least draw comfort from his teammates’ support.

They were, indeed, quick to his defence on Tuesday night.

According to a well-placed source of The Telegraph, who witnessed a “showdown” at a popular pub, Tequila Joe’s, Jadeja wasn’t left to fend for himself when a group of drunk fans of Indian origin went after him.

Over, now, to the eyewitness...

“It was around 9.30, many hours after India’s exit from the World Twenty20, that six or so cricketers turned up at one of the Rodney Bay Marina’s most sought-after addresses.

“Tequila’s was already packed with cricket fans, many of whom came from other parts of the West Indies and North America. They’d been drowning their sorrows and, on seeing the Indian players, got really agitated.

“About four of them almost charged at Jadeja (top villain in the first two Super Eights matches) and held him responsible for India’s ouster. They were abusive with a capital A, leaving Jadeja stunned.

“That’s when his mates, chiefly Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, came to his rescue.… They told the drunk fans that they had no right to abuse anybody from the team.… ‘Criticise, but don’t abuse’ was the message.

“As it turned out, their intervention made things worse and, eventually, bouncers had to get into the act…. The drunk fans were asked to leave and, even when being forced out, didn’t let up on abuses.

“It was at that point when some of the other Indian fans came to the Yuvrajs and assured them of ‘security’ should the drunken group return in bigger numbers.

“The Indian players didn’t start anything, it’s just that they reacted as friends would.… I also spotted Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Rohit Sharma.… I can’t confirm if anybody else was there.…”

That irate Indian fans wanted to go to the extent of beating up Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men had, in fact, been reported in these columns this morning.

Yuvraj, meanwhile, has gone on Twitter to deny a brawl. Technically, he’s right.

As for the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it has clarified that absolutely no player has been showcaused.

Generally, the Indian players are among the most well-behaved and, usually, are held in esteem by fans across the globe.