Calcutta: Gabriella Pasqualotto, a former Mumbai Indians cheerleader has alleged that the cricketers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) treat the cheerleaders as “meat”.
“The guys (in the IPL) treat us like meat”, said Pasqualotto, who was summarily sent home after exposing the antics of some of the players on a blog. She told South African daily Beeld that she was put on the first flight home after being a cheerleader for the Mumbai Indians since last month, following complaints to league officials about her blogging.
Picking up her comments on Twitter, a website asked Pasqualotto to write a regular blog.
After just two entries, a fellow cheerleader tipped off an unnamed player, who in turn informed the organisers. In the blog, which has since been removed, Pasqualotto wrote: “Old Graeme Smith will make eyes at anything — while his girlfriend is walking behind him.”
The entry further read: “The Aussies are fun but naughty, such as Aiden Blizzard and Dan Christian. By the end of a crazy evening, a certain someone had played kissing catchers with three girls known to me only, although he has his own girlfriend back home. He cooed to each girl, ‘Come home with me, I just want to cuddle!’
“Oh, please! I have come to realise that cricketers are the most loose and mischievous sportsmen I have come across. Makes me wonder if I should worry about them more then the commoners on the street!
“I’ve still got to stay here a long time, so I have to keep by my list of hints: Beware of cricketers!” she said.
About the post match parties Pasqualotto writes: “Usually only after day matches there is an exclusive after party and at night is when it all happens. The music pumps, the drinks flow and the cricketers come and go. We mingle and associate with important people of the IPL wearing their finest and sexiest, sponsors of all sorts, media and fashion shows, even Indian MTV! But the real fun happens in the VIP rooms where the players and night owls can cause scandal!
“The few Indian players we have met, such as MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have been very polite and keep to themselves in the dark corners. Hotshots like Tendulkar with families at home are never present. The likes of Jonty Rhodes and Albie Morkel are notorious for having a good time with friends!”
Crying foul from her parents’ home in Pietermaritzburg Tuesday, Pasqualotto said the organisers would not even allow her to cash traveller’s cheques or buy a phone card before bundling her onto a plane home.
Pasqualotto claimed that a number of other girls in the IPL had been “intimate” with cricketers and sponsors. “It’s a joke. We can’t go anywhere without being surrounded by huge crowds. And some of the girls did not behave themselves,” Pasqualotto said, adding that this was despite warnings from the tournament organisers about behaviour on their arrival in India. These instructions included not visiting players.
Craig Livingstone, spokesman for former South African captain Smith, told Beeld there was no reason to comment, while Cricket South Africa (CSA) media spokesman Michael Owen-Smith said it was a matter for the IPL only.
