11 Things You Always Wanted To Ask An IPL Cheerleader

Four years ago, a South African cheerleader decided to write an anonymous blog about post match parties and cricketers' behaviour (most of it was lecherous) at these parties. Things got so out of hand that the cheerleader in question was promptly asked to pack-up and leave town. But, that was 4 years ago and things seem to have changed. Now another IPL cheerleader has taken part in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) where people asked her all kind of questions (and some were really all kind of questions) and she reverted without a fuss. Here's a snapshot of what all she said.

I'm keeping my identity secret because I don't have permission to do this from my managers. (And I want the freedom to keep my answers honest.)

1. Do you stay at the same hotels as the players?

BCCL

Not really. "The first two games they were more like 1 star hotels. Cockroaches, I saw a rat and rat droppings, it was pretty bad. But we quickly spoke up and realized our manager for that trip had been skimping us and pocketing the money he was saving on a cheaper hotel. Now they're more like 3 star. Perfectly comfortable but not over the top."

2. Are you comfortable in the outfits you get?

BCCL

"Oh my goodness, the costumes are the biggest drama,". "I liked our old ones but apparently the boss' 13-year-old daughter decided she wants to be a designer and designed our new outfits," she said.

3. Do you have a college degree?

BCCL

"Hell yes. Some of them have degrees much posher than all of us." The cheerleader who did the AMA was a university graduate in anthropology.

4. What is the worst thing being in India?

BCCL

"I hate the racism. Why is my team made up of 99% white girls? Why do Indians feel it's ok to dress white girls up in skimpy outfits but they won't let their fellow Indian women do it? It's messed up."

5. Do you get to spend time with cricket stars?

BCCL

"The players ignore us most of the time. We're not allowed to talk to each other".

6. What makes you angry in an IPL match?

BCCL

"We sometimes get trash thrown at us. I just ignore it". "I put a blank stare on for the most part when I'm facing the crowd. There's just so many nasty men making kissy faces and taking my picture that I tend to just block it all out."

"I've only cheered in India and one other western country. The men in the crowd in India are much more intrusive. But you'll find pigs wherever you go."

7. How much do you get paid.

BCCL

"My love for dancing and experiencing new things and new cultures brought me here. I actually get payed very little."

8. Would you prefer a bollywood professional choreographing your moves?

BCCL

'We have two set routines for fours and sixes. The rest we make up.'

9. How do you cope up with abuses hurled at you?

bccl

"For the most part I can't hear them. The music is loud enough and the accents are thick enough I'm mostly oblivious to the words. This doesn't mean I can't tell that there are some obvious slime-balls behind me. I try my best to ignore them. And I've made a personal rule for myself not to take pictures with fans unless they're women or children. I'm not keen on becoming someone's fap bate for the night."

10. Do you think cheer leading is a means to objectify women?

bccl

"I am a feminist, and I admit that I am bothered. When I danced in my home country I felt less like that. If you were to watch female dancers on Broadway, regardless of their outfit, you probably wouldn't call them a sexual object. You'd call them a dancer. I went into this contract as a dancer, finding that I'm treated more as a sex object."

A lot of people asked if only sluts opted for cheer leading. She responded, 'We're not all sluts. You might get the odd one or two out there in the world, but the mass majority of cheerleaders I've worked with are perfectly respectable women. I'm currently not working with any sluts, and for that I'm grateful. They tend to cause drama.'

11. Do you think the match is fixed?

bccl

' I've only heard rumors of fixed matched from people completely unrelated to IPL. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Us girls have had parties with just ourselves on a few occasions, but we're not allowed to hang out with the cricketers."

Do you agree with what she had to say? Would IPL be better off without them? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.