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No cheers, only jeers
Ajantha Mendis set a Twenty20 world record by taking 6 wickets for 8 runs, and Akila Dananjaya took out the batsman who smashed his cheekbone. But nothing beats the highlight of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World T20 Championship 2012: Cheerleaders.
The cheerleaders, all young local girls in gaudy makeup, wearing a multi-coloured ensemble of knee-length skirts and leggings (either a kaleidoscopic feast for the eyes or a garish horror, depending on your taste) did baila-style dance numbers on podiums around the stadium. Rather than pulling at the heartstrings of the testosterone-filled crowd, the cheerleaders had spectators holding slogans that read, “No more cheerleaders please.”
“ No more cheerleaders please” : A unanimous verdict. Pic by Amila Prabodha
The Hindustan Times was quick to illuminate the grave injustice, by calling the girls “cats on a hot tin roof,” not at all the “too hot to handle beauties in skimpy dresses.” Following that, a local paper called the cheerleaders a “disgraceful eyesore [that] has showcased Sri Lanka in a poor light to the entire world.”
Cricket fans too, were uninhibited in their criticism of the amateurish imitation. An Indian spectator called the cheerleaders “unbelievable.”
“They were not fit for cheerleading,” he told the Sunday Times. “Some were too skinny, some were too fat, and some were not fair enough. Also, their attire was not for cheerleading.”
Sri Lankan fans more or less agreed. “The dance moves were perfectly done, but the girls were not pretty enough, and sometimes they have to cater to superficial needs,” a 20-year-old Lankan fan said. “At the first match I saw in Hambantota, I thought they got the poor local girls involved. They certainly could have done with better outfits, paid better and hired good-looking girls with more curves.”
Another fan who’s watched cheerleader videos since she was little, was shocked by the girls’ bad hair, “clownish” makeup and serious lack of choreography.
“During the halftime, the cheerleaders come to the middle and do a dance routine, but they didn’t have that,” she added. “It was very unprofessional and it matters, because they are bringing down Sri Lankan entertainment standards. Instead of copying the Indian Premier League (IPL), they could have done this in a more Sri Lankan way, with traditional dances, rather than a failed Western wanna-be attempt.”
Amidst the onslaught of bad rep, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been unwavering in claiming the fault is not their own, as the ICC had contracted a private company for cheerleaders, which in turn had hired a local company. SLC has complained to the ICC that the cheer squad had shortcomings and was “not in order,” SLC President Upali Dharmadasa told the Sunday Times.
“Clearly, this came under ICC’s purview,” he said. “We complained to the ICC, as we got complaints from spectators and television viewers. They had it sponsored by Reliance Group.
The ICC kept telling us that the sponsors were happy with how it was being done, so they are unable to do anything. Once they got it sponsored, SLC can only complain about it.”
ICC Media and Communications Head Colin Gibson responded that he is not aware of any complaints. ICC country representative Shane Fernando said the T20 office in Colombo should have supervised the matter. T20 Tournament Director Upeka Nell refused to comment.
The dance instructor entrusted with training the cheerleaders, Sudev Abeysekarara, was not available for comment. Several attempts made to reach Mr Abeysekara were to no avail.
Sri Lanka’s view of their own cheerleaders didn’t get past observers who called out on their disparaging nature.
“For Sri Lanka, these underpaid, uncoordinated and gauche girls are an indignation to national pride,” blogged Shruti Dhapola. “They aren’t hot enough, they aren’t white enough and they certainly aren’t blonde enough. …. It’s okay to jeer at them and call them an eyesore.”
Cheerleading, prominently an American custom, is a sport on its own that combines dance routines with acrobatics. Relatively new to cricket, Twenty20 World Championship 2007 was the first international cricket event to host cheerleaders. Cheerleaders are famous in IPL tournaments, which have imported female talent to entertain the crowds.
“If they wanted to give Lankan girls an opportunity, unlike the IPL tradition, they should have trained them properly,” a cricket fan said. “Better yet, they could’ve just removed the concept of cheerleaders and hired mascots.”
“Why does cricket need cheerleaders?” another fan added. “If they want entertainment, take all that money and give it to Chris Gayle, he’s the only entertainment you need.”
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