BeyondHeadlines News Desk

The UNICEF’s initiatives for the adolescent girls of India got a major leg up with Delhi Daredevils announcing their support for its campaign.

The campaign coined as ‘Dare to Care’ will witness Delhi Daredevils as well as UNICEF working towards sensitizing the public on the important role girls can play in society and why education and protection can ensure that they can grow up and develop to their full potential.

Virender Sehwag, Captain, Delhi Daredevils said “This is an honor to be associated with a campaign which fights for empowering the adolescent girls of India. The entire team along with the management of the Delhi Daredevils is glued and excited about this campaign since this cause is so close to our own lives and hearts and so will do anything to make this a successful initiative.”

“The Delhi Daredevils have a huge and very loyal crowd of supporters. In partnering with the Daredevils we are looking forward to hearing millions of voices speaking out for girls in India. Girls who are educated, protected and empowered”, said Ms Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Representative in India, “With the Dare to Care campaign we are looking forward to joining hands with the team and calling for boys and girls to transform India.”.

Commenting on the announcement GMR Sports Head (Marketing) Hemant Dua said “The fact that 40% of adolescent girls aged between 14 – 17 years do not attend school, 40% girls in India marry before the legal age of 18 and around 56% of adolescent girls are anemic were good enough reasons for us to come together with UNICEF for a common cause of educating everyone to understand the value of girl child. It’s the girl which is so full of life, strength, playing a critical role in our lives so what holds us back to give them an equal status as the boys in the family and society at large. Delhi Daredevils through this campaign DARES everyone to wake up and start caring for the girls in your family.”

The partnership aims to support the efforts to protect millions of adolescent girls still facing obstacles in their lives by experiencing various forms of discrimination, exploitation and abuse on account of their age and their sex. ‘Dare to Care’ will focus on issues related to empowering girls with education which will further give them the courage to say no to an early marriage and also give their views on decisions which directly impacts their lives. (Courtesy: Sopan Step)

Cheerleaders of Kolkata Knight Riders are coming out in saris

They continue to entertain the crowds at Indian Premier League cricket matches, but Western-style mini-skirts and lewd dance moves have been shelved by the teams’ cheerleaders.

Two teams, the high-profile Kolkata Knight Riders and the Pune Warriors, have opted for inoffensive saris and less suggestive Indian-style choreography.

Cheerleading squads for most other teams in the multi-billion-dollar league have donned knee-length leggings – sometimes even skin-coloured.

Much like Lalit Modi, the former commissioner of the IPL who oversaw the league’s first three seasons of Twenty20 cricket and was subsequently removed amid allegations of corruption and nepotism, cheerleaders in hot pants have seemingly become a little too hot to handle.

‘Soft target’

“This is part of the effort to deglamourise the IPL since the exit of Mr Modi,” says a senior official of Hanmer MSL Communications, speaking on behalf of the CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Venky Mysore.

“The priority is on cricket. It is also true that cheerleaders are often the soft target of the moral police in India,” the official said.

This year KKR, owned by Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, has seen its cheerleaders dressed in garish purple and gold saris dancing in rhythm with local dhakis (drummers) to the team anthem and Bollywood film music.

Pune Warriors cheerleaders dance to Indian tunes

The idea, it is reported, came from KKR’s actor-owners who found inspiration from a Bollywood film in which they had played the lead roles.

The film, aptly, was called Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (Yet My Heart Is Indian), in which Ms Chawla played a woman from the Bengali community which forms the Calcutta team’s primary support base.

The KKR management has also employed “only local girls” as cheerleaders in the current IPL instead of using fair-skinned foreigners, the norm since the inaugural IPL in 2008.

“Now that Shah Rukh Khan has been appointed as brand ambassador of West Bengal (the state of which Calcutta is the capital city), using traditional costumes and local cheerleaders is all about making an emotional connection with the Bengali community,” the official added.

Not everyone is buying the argument.

After a match against the Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta, Sikharendu Datta, a banker, found the KKR cheerleaders to be unlike Bengalis.

“They don’t wear saris the Bengali way or dance the Bengali way or to Bengali music, other than the team anthem. At best, they are just cheerleaders in saris,” said Mr Datta.

‘Distracting’

The IPL was envisaged as a meeting of the best popular baits in India – bang bang cricket, Bollywood stars, music and prime time televised spectacle. Long-legged blonde cheerleaders in short dresses completed the picture with their pom poms and American Super Bowl moves.

Ironically, among the first to protest against the presence of the cheerleaders was a player.

Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi, who was playing for an IPL team in the inaugural season, said he found the cheerleaders “distracting” for the batsmen. At least one newspaper report suggested the poor-in-form player keep his eye on the ball.

Over the years, and for varying reasons, others have spoken out in agreement with the Pakistani all-rounder.

Meanwhile Afridi, along with other Pakistani players, has been kept out of the lucrative IPL players’ auctions since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which militants from Pakistan were found to be involved.

In the state of Maharashtra – home to the Mumbai Indians and Pune Warriors – Bal Thackeray, the powerful chief of the Hindu right-wing political party Shiv Sena, felt the cheerleaders were introduced to “seduce” the crowd.

Former Bharatiya Janata Party politician Shatrughan Sinha said the use of cheerleaders made a “mockery” of cricket, while social activist Swami Agnivesh felt it to be “the height of vulgarity”.

In Orissa, a fringe political outfit called Kalinga Sena threatened to disrupt IPL games in the state if cheerleaders were allowed.

‘Exotic and sensuous’

The girls continued to be in the news after two “dark-skinned” cheerleaders complained of racial bias and another blogged about flirtatious cricketers. A South African cheerleader subsequently lost her job.

In a 2010 interview given to the BBC, former IPL head Lalit Modi was asked about the League’s seeming preference for blonde pom pom girls and whether he was saying Indian girls were not beautiful.

Of course not, Mr Modi countered haltingly, India has the prettiest girls. “There are many, many Indian women participating in the IPL as fans, or in the stadium or watching the product,” he added.

If the IPL let Indian women on the field as cheerleaders, it happened only after Mr Modi’s exit after the third season and with the emergence of the Pune Warriors India (PWI) team from 2011.

Dressed in traditional Indian classical dancing costumes, Pune have dubbed their cheerleading team the Cheer Queens and the performers Bharatiya Nrityaganas (Indian Dancers).

‘Exotic and sensuous’

“I thought it was a brilliant way to move out of our set thinking about cheerleaders,” says dancer Tanushree Shankar, who worked as a consultant with the PWI Cheer Queens last year.

“Classical and folk dance forms not only showcase our Indianness, but can be exotic and sensuous too,” she says.

Despite complaints from some fans that a certain spark is now missing from the league’s proceedings, cheerleaders continue to be an important part of the IPL, says Raghu Iyer, CEO of the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

“It is a very important revenue-generation item sold to sponsors and partners,” he says.

The Rajasthan cheerleaders have “over the last few years” increasingly appeared in more conformist fashion. This year, their blue tights have been extended to well below the knees.

“We ensure that their attire and choreography take the sensibilities of the Indian viewing family into account. In future we might also have local girls as cheerleaders,” says Mr Iyer.

In the two decades since the Indian economy opened up, India has found ways to localise the most prominent of international brands.

From pizza ingredients, music and fashion to automobile engineering, Indian tastes, ethics, political compulsions and needs have gradually been added to the product mix by multinationals.

By all indications, even cheerleading at the IPL is no exception.

(Shamik Bag is a Calcutta-based writer and journalist and This article was first published in BBC)

Are cricket fans turning their backs on the ongoing fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s showcase fast cricket contest?

If TV ratings figures are to be believed, fans have had enough of cricket despite the nine-team, 76-match, seven-week Twenty20 tourney.

Viewer ratings were down 18.7% in the first six games - a time when interest in the tournament traditionally peaks – compared with the same period last year.

That’s not all. Season V began on a wrong note with a tawdry Bollywood song-and-dance opening show which even appears to have put off fans. Two top sponsors have withdrawn. Brand and communication consultants are warning that the IPL brand is in “choppy waters”, and the league needs a “stronger game plan to rejuvenate the brand”. One brand consultancy firm has downgraded the league’s value to $3.67bn, down 11% from 2010.

Remember, the response to IPL Season IV last year was lukewarm. TV ratings dropped by 29% and even the final met a tepid response. Cricket fans were savouring India’s spectacular win in the World Cup which preceded the tournament, and had little appetite for more cricket.

Why is the thrill gone this year – at least in the early stages of the tournament? After all, this is the tournament which combines the sublime (sledgehammer batting, close finishes) and the ridiculous (Bollywood entertainment, cheerleaders, “strategic time outs” in the middle of the games to facilitate advertising breaks). Indians love tamasha(entertainment), and the IPL is still the best tamasha on offer.

For one, after the song and dances are over, it’s finally all about cricket. India is still licking its wounds after a nightmarish international season in which it lost eight overseas Test matches on the trot - its worst run since the 1960s. Though Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international hundred in Dhaka last month was a welcome diversion, India failed to pick up the Asia Cup. Don’t disrespect the fan, Rahul Dravid eloquently said at last year’s Bradman Oration, and to expect fans to flock to cheer non-performing cricketers at the highest level is a bit fey.

Also, Indian stars are the league’s biggest draw, and most of them have been performing indifferently or are absent in the ongoing edition. Tendulkar is hurt after the first game, and Sehwag and Dhoni, two big hitters, haven’t fired yet. VVS Laxman isn’t playing this season. Yuvraj Singh is recovering from cancer and is out of the game for a while. Saurav Ganguly’s batting is past its sell-by date. Rahul Dravid is playing a post-retirement nostalgia gig. Yusuf Pathan, a Twenty20 star, has fizzled out. When the stars are largely down and out, fans stay away.

Fans also seem to be confused about whom to support. The IPL is a city-based league aiming to build up fan bases in half-a-dozen big Indian cities. But when Calcutta’s icon Saurav Ganguly, Delhi’s favourite Gautam Gambhir and Bangalore’s biggest star Rahul Dravid end up leading the teams of Pune, Calcutta and Rajasthan, fan loyalties to home teams can begin to fray easily.

Interest will possibly pick up during the knockouts and the final at the fag end of the league. It may even pick up with more high-scoring games, edge-of-the-seat finishes, and big-bang batting by the stars.

But authorities simply cannot afford to let the IPL crash.

Listen to Sharda Ugra, India’s top cricket writer, and you know why. “The IPL has now become a key component of world cricket’s economy,” she writes. “If it falters and fails because it is not alert to the audience climate around it, the domino effect around the cricket world will be damaging. Cricket’s superstar status in many parts of its empire will be downgraded from club class to cattle class – all holy cows included.”

(This article was first published in BBC)

Stage is set for Olympic qualifiers at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi and Indian women hockey team is in a quest to book their berth for London Olympics 2012.

It was in 1980 Moscow Olympics when Indian eves represented country in the games and that too on an invitational basis.

After being eluded for 32 years, a confident looking Indian team is expected to kick off their campaign on a winning note against weaker side of Ukraine on Saturday. 

In the Olympics qualifiers games, advantage is with India. After Ukraine India will play Canada on Sunday, Poland on Feb 21, South Africa on Feb 22 and Italy on Feb 24.

South Africa is the only highest ranked team in the qualifiers. Ranked at No.12, South African side is also favourite for the London Olympics but World No.13 India will be the team to beat.

India have a good mix of youth and experience, which will help them to overcome Italy (19th), Canada (20th), Ukraine (26th) and Poland (28th) in the tournament.

Forward Rani Rampal, skipper Asunta Lakra, defender Subhadra Pradhan, forward Jasjeet Kaur Handa and midfielder Deepika Thakur are carrying experience of playing in the 2008 qualifiers and expectations are high from them this time.

Despite of good performance in the warm-up game against Canada, Indians have long tendency to give away early leads. This is the key area of concern and girls will have to improve their games in the tournament.

Against Canada, Indian eves converted three out of four short corners in the goal but they will have to be consistent.

Indian side also ended their preparation for Olympics qualifiers in style after beating Azerbaijan 4-0 in Test series.

On the other hand, Ukraine will try to earn more experience when they will play against India. They have nothing to lose will try to win hearts by their performance.

Well, Ukraine side is inexperienced but they have reason to cheer as they have one man, who is aware of Indian side. Former Indian Hockey coach Jose Brasa has arrived in India as advisor of Ukrainian women team. Brasa knows everything about the turf, the atmosphere that his team will face on Saturday.

(Courtesy: Pratirodh.com)

While talking to reporters, the coach of the men’s team Michael Nobbs said that his boys are working hard for the qualifiers.

The training is going on really well. There are no injury issues and we are now just fine tuning. We are focusing on every little detail, every little thing that can cost us,” Nobbs said.

The Indian men’s team will face Canada, Singapore, France, Italy and Poland in the event, to be held here from February 18-26.

The former Indian captain Dilip Tirkey, who is also a government appointed national selector, is working extensively with the players.

Dilip is helping them on how to stop counters and what to do in pressure situations.

India captain Bharat Chetri said that Tirkey’s inputs will be of immense help for the defenders, who have the perennial habit of succumbing under pressure.

The former technical adviser Ric Charlesworth has also expressed hope over India qualifying for the London Olympics.

He said that India has some very exciting players and can play some fabulous hockey but they need to be more consistent.

“I expect India to qualify as they have easily the easiest pathway…Canada, Poland and France can cause an upset but against India at home they do not have enough weapons,” Charlesworth said.

Another former coach of Indian men’s  hockey team Jose Brasa also foresees Indian returning to Olympics this time.

Brasa is in India presently as the coach for the Ukraine women’s hockey team.

” I am yet to meet the players, but they have a 100 percent chance of qualifying,” said Brasa.

(Courtesy: Pratirodh.com)

All-rounder Shahid Afridi on Tuesday reversed his decision to retire from International cricket, saying he wanted to play for Pakistan since the Chairman of the cricket board has been replaced.

Afridi is available for selection for Pakistan in the limited-overs formats. He announced his retirement from International cricket in May after having stripped of the captaincy following a public spat with Coach Waqar Younis.

“I didn’t as such retire. I only said I will not play under the previous board but now people are changed-exactly what I wanted, so I am available for the selection,” he said.

Waqar Younis stepped down as coach after the last tour to Zimbabwe owing to personal reasons  while Zaka Ashraf took over as the new chairman of PCB after completion of Ijaz Butt’s three-year tenure.

There was no word from PCB on Afridi’s announcement but former players welcomed his decision to come back.The-dashing all-rounder took his country to the semi-finals in the 2010 World Cup.

Currently, Pakistan is playing a full-fledged series in UAE against Sri Lanka; his return might prompt the selectors to consider him for the ODI and T-20 Squad.

Discipline bowling and then proficient batting from Kohli and Gambhir steered India to an Eight-wicket win over England in 2^nd ODI at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi.

Chasing a gettable target of 238, the unbroken 209 run-stand between Gambhir (84*) and Kohli, who scored a whirlwind century (112*) took India safely to home with 80 balls to spare. The Delhi duo set a new record for the third wicket partnership at Kotla, eclipsing the previous best of 175 between Sidhu and Azharuddin against Sri Lanka in 1996.

Despite, losing the two openers Patel (12) and Rahane (14) at, the two Delhi batsmen kept the visitors under the pump and scored at the will of their bowlers.

After the initial success, England bowlers’ efforts went in vain, as Kohli-Gambhir attacked the English bowlers. The left-right combination added trouble for the English camp and scored in all directions. They played sensibly to steady the innings as the pair first got their eye before unleashing some delightful strokes.

Gambhir deft touches were a treat to watch while Kohli was colossal with his timing.Kohli also became the first Indian to score a century at Kotla in 15 years.

Bresnan was the only bowler with wickets in his column as he picked both Indian wickets.

Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat first. England got off to a worst possible start before losing both their openers inside first two overs with nothing at the scoreboard.

Trott and Pietersen rescued by adding 48 runs before Trott (38) edged one to the keeper. Next came in Bopara steadied the ship with KP and revived England’s inning. Just when the duo looked like bailing the visitors out of trouble, a double strike did the damage as Bopara (36) and Pietersen (46) lost their wickets.

Reeling at 121/5, Bairstow (35) and Samit Patel (42), then took the responsibility upon themselves, they kept the scoreboard ticking. Then the batting power play gave 36 runs to England, taking them past 200.Sixth-wicket stand yielded vital 86 runs before the pair faltered and rest of the lower order could not add much and they bundled up at 237 in 48.2 overs.

Vinay Kumar’s career best 4/30 did most of the damage, but Indian looked like a unit and were generally good in the field too.U.Yadav picked up two wickets while Jadeja, Kumar and Ashwin got wicket apiece.

Cook probably felt that his batsmen failed to capitalize on their starts and fielding was sub-stnadard.While skipper MSD praised his bowlers and batsmen for their efforts in the match.
Virat Kohli was the Man of the Match.

India have the upper hand and they will look to win the series in the next ODI at Mohali on 20^th October.

Skipper MS Dhoni fireworks late down the order inspired India to a 126-run win over England in the 1^st ODI of the 5 match ODI series at Hyderabad. This was India’s first victory after a losing streak of 10 International matches (five ODI’s, four tests and one T-20) that includes last two ODI’s in West Indies also.

England were bundled out for 174 in chasing a mammoth target of 301 set by India.

After the early loss of Kieswetter, Pietersen and Cook try to build the innings but a direct hit from Ashwin ruled KP out for 19.Next came in Trott negotiated the early deliveries, went to score some free shots, and added 71 runs for the third wicket.

Amidst Cook reached his half-century but after a few tight overs he gave away his wicket after he tried to loft over mid-wicket but was caught at the fence. He made 60 from 63 balls.

111/2 at one stage, England suffered a collapse. Apart from Samit Patel (16) and Finn (18), none of the English lower order batsmen were in double figures.Ashwin signaled India’s emphatic win by shattering the stumps of the last man Dernbach.

Off-spinner Ashwin and Left-arm Jadeja took 3wickets apiece to bowl out England for 174 in 36.1 overs. While Umesh yadav scalped two and Praveen Kumar picked up one wicket.

Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat on a slow-low track at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.Rahane (15) made a complete mess of the first powerplay where India only scored 47 runs losing Parthiv Patel’s wicket.

He went into a shell and lost his wicket when he charged out only to be deceived by Swann’s flight, which allowed Kieswetter to complete an easy stumping.

Gambhir (33) was the next batsmen to return to the pavilion after a good start.Kohli and Raina steadied the ship with a 44-run stand but soon Kohli (37) too lost his way and gave away his wicket.

At 123/4, MSD joined Raina as the duo started the repair job. They waited patiently and took the charge in the batting powerplay (36-40 over) against the English bowlers.Raina made a quick-fire 61,Jadeja continued from where Raina left adding 27 off 22 deliveries.

India added a whooping 150 runs in the last 15 overs as one got a glimpse of vintage Dhoni (87*) as he dashed England bowlers for his 42^nd half-century.

Swann was the only English bowler to escape the punishment with a economical figures of 1/35 in 10 overs. While rest were tormented by the late Indian attack.Finn,Ddernbach and Patel picked up wicket a piece but went for too many runs.

Captain Cook was amused by the slow nature of the track. And also vowed to fight back in the up-coming matches. While MSD praised his bowlers for picking up wickets regularly and his batsmen as they were calm and composed on this slow surface.
Dhoni for his match-winning knock was adjuged Man of the Match for his blitzing knock.

The two teams now travel to the Indian capital New Delhi, where next game is on 17^th October at Feroz Shah Kotla.

With just over 20 days left for India’s first ever Formula One race, Force India, co-owned by Vijay Mallaya, is set to sell a minority stake in Formula One team to Sahara India for an undisclosed amount.Mallaya and Subrata Roy are due to hold a joint news conference later in the evening.

Vijay Mallaya bought the Spyker Ferrari Team in 2007, for about 90 million Euros and then renamed it Force India for 2008 season. The only Indian team is at the sixth position with 48 points.

Mallaya also owns IPL team Royal Challengers, while Sahara India, already have big stakes in Cricket and Hockey and now will spread its wings in Formula One also.

Monaco-Ryan Giggs has been bestowed with the 2011 Golden Foot Award.
The Welshman, who has become an iconic Manchester United midfielder, received the highest number of votes among the ten nominees.

Courtesy:Getty images

The veteran winger has been a permanent fixture in United’s side. Prince Albert II of Monaco on Monday night gave Giggs the trophy as he received the highest number of votes beating Beckham, Drogba, Casillas, Zanetti, Xavi Hernandez and Carlos Puyol to the award.

The 37-year old will have a permanent mould of his feet put on Monte Carlo’s champions’ promenade, which includes some of the biggest name in the footballing history such as Maradona, Zidane and Alfredo Stefani.

“It’s a great honour to win such an award. I have been fortunate to play alongside great players and play for the greatest manger and club in the world”, said Giggs.

During his time at Old Trafford Manchester United has won twelve Premier league titles, two Champions league titles and four FA Cup titles.