Watching his national cricket side wallop a hapless England is enough to set the pulse of the average Indian male racing. So perhaps it’s just as well that the Indian XI’s first troupe of cheerleaders plan to eschew the skimpy outfits favoured by their Western peers for modest saris.
Determined to inject a little razzmatazz into the one-day international at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday, the hosts, the Orissa Cricket Association (OCA), have made the unprecedented decision to hire dancing girls to support the national team.
However, mindful of the outcry earlier this year, when some sides flirted with scantily clothed, American-style cheerleaders, the OCA insists that its recruits will each be clad in eight metres of woven silk.
Ashirbad Behera, the OCA secretary, who is organising the cheerleaders, said: “This is the first time a one-day international will feature cheering girls. But I will not have them dressing up in short skirts, as it would be against our culture and traditions. ”
Cheerleaders were unknown in Indian cricket until April this year, when the Royal Challengers Bangalore enlisted Washington Redskins cheerleaders, complete with hot pants and bikini tops.
They whipped up support for the team in the newly formed Indian Premier League. However, India’s establishment made no secret of its distaste.
Ramchandra Guha, one of the country’s leading historians, complained: “Why we always have to borrow the worst of the Western world is beyond me.”
He said the introduction of US-style cheerleaders risked “stoking the base, voyeuristic and sexual insecurities of the Indian male.
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