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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan Premier League will have Chacha instead of cheerleaders |
| 2008-05-25 |
| KARACHI: When Pakistan will launch their very own version of the Indian Premier League sometime in the first half of next year, they would be borrowing heavily from the much-hyped IPL. In addition, officials currently preparing the blueprint of the ‘Pakistan Premier League’, will also be adding some new ideas in a bid to make what will be a much smaller league than the multi-million-dollar IPL a big success. But there is one feature of the IPL that would ‘never’ be a part of the planned league on this side of the border — female cheerleaders. “Having the sort of cheerleaders currently engaged with the IPL here in Pakistan would be culturally offensive,” Dr Ahsan Hameed Malik, the marketing chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told ‘The News’ on Saturday. “We cannot even think about having such cheerleaders here because our culture doesn’t have room for such practices,” he added. Cheerleaders instantly made their presence felt in the IPL, with many welcoming the colourful addition while others criticising them. The IPL flew in cheerleaders from various parts of the world with liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya inviting Washington Redskins — The First Ladies of Football — to cheer for his team, the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Within days, protests were raised in various parts of India with many stressing that cheerleaders in skimpy outfits is an affront to Indian culture. But people marketing the IPL are of the view that the cheerleaders have helped fill the stadiums by drawing many people who earlier were not eager to watch cricket, especially the younger generation. But back at home, for officials like Malik, it’s not an issue. They are of the view that cheerleaders may help fill the stadiums but that is not going to happen in Pakistan. Malik said that to add colour to the PPL, cricket authorities here can fall back to the tried-and-tested, all-male folk troupes comprising traditionally-dressed drummers and dancers. “We’ve had such cheerleaders for our matches in the past and we can bring them in to add some excitement in our league,” said Malik. Then the PCB can also rope in characters like the Sialkot-based cricket fan Sufi Abdul Jalil known in the cricket world as ‘Chacha Cricket’. Abdul Jalil has been a regular feature at Pakistan’s matches both at home and abroad for several years. Malik said that the PCB will consider all such options. “We would certainly like to have some sort of cheerleading during our league,” the Board official concluded. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #4 In Singapore they use a Hokkien phrase 'Kaisu', which literally means 'me too' or more generally means, I want to be noticed for doing what my neighbours are doing. The Indian IPL has been a huge commercial success. A Pakistan IPL will be a commercial failure for rather obvious reasons and nothing to do with cheerleaders. I regularly watch the games, in fact I'll watch the one on in a few minutes, and I find the regular switching to the cheerleaders annoying. It's a gimmick that will quietly fade away. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2008-05-25 12:07 |
| #3 Cheerleaders instantly made their presence felt in the IPL, with many welcoming the colourful addition while others criticising them. Try putting it to an unrigged vote. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-05-25 03:18 |
| #2 I'll take Good Ole American T & A over any Paki combo of Letters. |
| Posted by: RD 2008-05-25 01:42 |
| #1 I thought that PCB was something you needed to clean up after a transformer blew up. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-05-25 01:30 |