'Sorry' performance by 'cheerleaders' at T20

2 October 2012 10:29 am

The sorry performance of the so called cheerleaders at the ICC World T20 is not only a disgraceful  eyesore but has showcased Sri Lanka in a poor light to the entire world judging by the disparaging comments they have drawn from the international media.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is furious at the way the country has been made the laughing stock of the world but feel helpless as it was the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its local directorate which had put Sri Lanka in this embarrassing position.“We played no part in it. What has happened is that the ICC had given the contract of supplying these cheerleaders to a private company which in turn hired a local company to provide the dancers.

Unfortunately neither the ICC nor that private company consulted us on the matter. It is obvious that SLC was in the best position to recommend the best local company for such a job. This mistake has resulted in projecting a bad image of the country to the world” said SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga.

Ranatunga felt that the Sri Lankan ICC World T20 secretariat which is run by Sri Lankan officials had also bungled when they failed to consult the SLC on the matter.

ICC World T20 Director Upekha Abeykoon Nell did not answer her phone and did not respond even to an SMS from “Daily Mirror” quite in contrast to 2011 ICC World Cup Director Suraj Dandeniya who promptly responded to all difficult issues and was available to media at all times despite constantly getting flak in the newspapers.

It has now emerged that Sri Lanka’s embarrassment has been caused by ICC stinginess and that the world cricket governing body had not spent enough money on the project. Obviously an embarrassment to Sri Lanka is of no concern to the ICC as long as they save a few bucks.

The man in charge of the dancers, Sudev Abeysekara, who himself is not too happy with the show had told the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times that the poor quality of the performance is directly linked to the poor payments. "The dance steps being performed are fine. But the thing is that in an event like this you need good looking girls, and to get the beautiful girls who are professional dancers, you have to pay more. The payment is not that great," he told HT.
Abeysekara had also told the newspaper that he received the contract late and girls did not have enough time to practice. "You need three-four months of practice, I have got 7-8 days to train the girls," he said.

Abeysekara had also exposed the cheap stunts of the ICC revealing that the podiums on which the dancers are performing are not up to the mark. One of them had crashed down during the opening day of Super Eights according to the newspaper.

Abeysekara had also blamed the poor quality dresses that had been supplied to the dancers. "The style and fashion is okay, but the quality of the dresses is poor. The girls are not comfortable, the tights they are wearing stipped down while dancing and the girls were busy tying them here and there. Most of our dancers will not wear shorts for an event like this because they are conscious that parents are watching" he told the newspaper.

The Hindustan Times which mocked the whole issue in an article titled “Cheerleaders? More like cats on a hot tin roof” said “The cheerleaders have proved to be huge crowd-pullers and have usually been found too hot to handle in all the editions of the ICC World Twenty20, from the South African beauties in 2007 to the Caribbean bomb-shells in 2010”

“Sri Lanka is a country where people know how to party. They can turn matches into one huge festival with non-stop music and dancing. Celebration and tourism is ingrained in their daily life. So, it is really surprising that their cheergirls are producing the blandest of shows. No wonder, even the TV cameras rarely pan in their direction”.

The article also quite rightly observed “It looks like a case of missed opportunity to draw wider attention to Sri Lanka's rich culture”. (Channaka de Silva)