India warns cricket cheerleaders

Indian police say the organisers of the new tournament transforming world cricket could be fined if cheerleaders are deemed to be dressed indecently.

The cheerleaders have been introduced into the Indian Premier League as part of moves to add glamour and entertainment to the game.

Some politicians say the cheerleaders are "vulgar and obscene".

Mumbai police say they will be checking that the cheerleaders' performances do not violate entertainment licences.

The cheerleading girls, wearing short skirts and low-cut tops, have been hired from around the world to perform during the matches which are also being heavily endorsed by leading Bollywood stars.

They include cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins.

'Lines of decency'

Cheerleaders have been brought in from all over the world Pic: Sandipan Chatterjee/Indian Express More Details>>

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April 24 (Bloomberg) -- If you think ``getting Bangalored'' is still a metaphor for the loss of Western computer-software and network-maintenance jobs to cheaper workers in India, then you aren't following the Washington Redskins cheerleaders.

Twelve of the ``First Ladies of Football,'' as they like to call themselves, are in India's code-writing capital on work.

Yes, this is outsourcing in reverse; and no, India hasn't taken to playing American football. The National Football League in India refers to a domestic soccer competition; and even that has recently undergone a name change. The cheerleaders are supporting Royal Challengers Bangalore, one of the teams participating in India's newly born cricket league.

The Indian Premier League, a 44-day, 59-match annual fixture, has already emerged as one of the largest and most- promising new business opportunities in India in recent years.

Commentators have mostly focused on how lucrative the league is for the players and the Indian cricket board; cricket enthusiasts have considered the pros and cons of the game's condensed format: It finishes within three hours; a Test match, the classical version, can take five days.

More financially oriented analysts have wondered if it would make a profit for the owners of the teams, including billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, spirits tycoon Vijay Mallya and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan MoreDetails>>

County cricket is here to stay

While the rest of the world's best moonlight for their millions in the Indian Premier League, cricketers here stick diligently to their day job. The fortunate have a crack at Broadway, while here our lot perform repertory theatre in half-empty, draughty town halls.

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First day's play | Second day's play

County preview

Yes, that blessed anachronism of ours, the County Championship, is back on Wednesday; cloaked, as we all should by now be aware, by probably its darkest ever shadow.

	Room for manoeuvre: Empty seats at Lord's for the traditional MCC v county champions curtain-raiser

It's enough to make one feel genuinely sorry for these chaps. But we shouldn't. They are not exactly put-upon. This is no longer a bad day job.

We already know that England's centrally contracted few can earn basic salaries of upwards of £400,000. And, among domestic county players, six-figure salaries are not uncommon. Those bubbling just below the £100,000 mark are positively plentiful.

This is, of course, no reason for exclusion from the Indian fun. Others are topping up already hefty wages. This is just a reality check amid the present hysteria. As is debunking the worst fears for county cricket right now. With the IPL due to begin two days after the championship, it is fast becoming fashionable to predict its total demise.More Details>>

South Africa put on show of force to beat India

The scrap between England, India and South Africa for the right to become Australia's 'official challenger' in world cricket swung decisively in South Africa's favour yesterday when they completed a three-day demolition of India which was as comprehensive as it was daunting.More Details>>

India Lose Second Test Match

Ahmedabad. India lost the second test by a whopping Innings and 90 runs. The result by and large was evident yesterday after the Indian Second Innings collapsed. A valiant 87 bu Saurav Ganguly and 52 by M S Dhoni were too feeble to save the Indian Team from defeat. More Details>>

Rahul Dravid - The Wall of Indian Cricket

Rahul Dravid, the leader of the Indian cricket team who has surpassed and also created many remarkable records, is certainly man with a difference. Dravid was born on 11th January 1973 in the city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, India. His complete name is Rahul Sharad Dravid though he is well-known with nicknames such as Jammy and The Wall, attributed to him for different reasons.

Rahul did his schooling from St. Jospeh’s Boys High School, Bangalore and graduated from St. Joseph’s College of Commerce. Dravid started playing cricket at an early age of 12. He played for the state in under-15, under-17 and under-19 cricket tournaments. Soon Dravid played the County cricket for Scotland and Kent. At that time his coach was Keki Tarapore, an Indian cricketer who played in one test match in 1948. In 1991 Dravid also led Karnataka to the Ranji Trophy and made a double century in the final match. In 1996 Rahul got an opportunity to play international cricket. He made his test debut against England at Lords in the 2nd Test match of India’s tour of England. In the same year Dravid’s ODI test debut was against Sri Lanka at Singapore in the Singer Cup tournament. Rahul was one amongst he Wisden cricketers of the year 2000.

In the world of cricket Rahul is known for his consistent batting and active leadership. He is one of the best defensive batsman India could ever produce. This defensive style of playing fetched him the nickname of ‘The Wall’. He is blessed with immense skill to rotate the strike and play with front foot defence, neither scoring runs nor getting out. Rahul’s brilliant strategy of playing cricket has enabled him to create some outstanding records in the cricket world. Dravid has scored 23 centuries in Test cricket at an average of 57.65 which included 5 double centuries while in one-dayers he has an average of 40.16 at a strike rate of 70. He has played a total of 104 test matches and 291 ODIs and the runs scored are 9049 and 9510 respectively. Dravid is also the world record holder for the highest percentage of runs in the matches won under a single captain, where the captain himself has won more than 20 tests. Under the captainship of Bengali boy Saurav Ganguly, Indian team played 21 matches out of which Rahul Dravid played in every single wins and scored a record average of 102.84 and made 2571 runs, with nine hundreds- three of them double-centuries- and ten fifties in 32 innings. Dravid made a great contribution of 23% of the total runs scored by India in those 21 matches. It is only due his superb and consistent performance that Dravid was first made the vice-captain and then the captain of Indian team. Apart from batting Rahul has also done wicket keeping in many matches. His innocent face and distinct attitude has made him the heartthrob of females all over the world.

Lately the Indian skipper and his boys played a scintillating test innings in and against West Indies and brought home the Cup. Prior to this Dravid along with Vireder Sehwag was crowned the hero of the Allianz Cup 2006 (Pakistan v India Test Series) as the dup played a record breaking innings on Pakistan soil.