IPL parties: the inside story( hindustan times)

[new_cartman]

Source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/ipl-parties-the-inside-story/article1-543348.aspx

"Dhoni was right in one way. Players have to make their own choices about their bodies, but it's not always that easy — not if you're not Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid. My problem with the IPL Nites parties was not that I was forced to attend by any contractual obligation. There was no such thing for me, or, to my knowledge, for any of my fellow India players. Each party was invariably the same routine. You would have a set-up with a ramp show that lasted 30 to 45 minutes, then the models would come off and mix with the rest and the party would take off. There were cheerleaders and girls who we called 'escort service'. Beautiful women to add glamour to the mix, get the party moving. They were not allowed to talk to any player for more than five minutes. If they did, a manager would walk up and slickly move her away. But there were other women, willing and uninhibited. The big-name players who did attend generally handled themselves without a problem. They would hang around, chat, have a drink, pick up a happy girl, sometimes two, take her back to the hotel room and have some fun. Watching some of our younger players, the u-19 and u-22 kids, though, was scary. They had never been exposed to Bollywood stars, Page 3 personalities, endless cigarettes (all free), flowing booze, occasionally drugs and always women, willing women, everywhere. The boys lapped it up, and would party right through. Those that didn't drink or smoke did so to be part of the cool gang. The pressure lay more in the occasional hint dropped by an IPL official, a sponsor or a franchise official that it would be good if I were there for a bit, that there were some people they would like me to meet. I am not Tendulkar or Dravid, I couldn't say no, go back to my room and stay there and not be bothered. So when you go back to the room to recover, you really don't want to hang around there when the rest of the guys are going downstairs — the parties are always in the team hotels — and you don't want to be called "boring". So you tell yourself, 'I'll go down for an hour', only, it's never an hour. Before you know it, it's 4am and you're heading back to your room, hurrying to pack up and head to another city, another game, another sponsor's commitment (which are endless), another shoot possibly and yes, another party. The problem is that you can never switch off mentally. Not on the field, not during the hours spent in airports when fans and the airport staff want an autograph, photograph or just a chat and not in the parties, where you'll be introduced to important people who will listen to you and perhaps, be important contacts who will make money for you. It's a choice and it's tiring but it's also business. You have to be switched on. It takes a toll, when you play a game, party till 4am, pack and grab an hour's sleep before heading for the airport and spend six to 12 hours travelling. Places like Jaipur and Chandigarh don't have direct connections to everywhere else. That's my most vivid memory of IPL, not the matches, not the parties but the endless travel and exhaustion — and next year, with 34 games more, it will only get worse. I didn't even know if I really wanted to. It's like this. The IPL is intense; short bursts of highly charged games and then, nothing. There's no period of introspection. (As told to Heena Zuni Pandit. The player has chosen to remain anonymous.) "

[f.b.m]

Its my impression of what goes on as well but since it doesnt have a proper source, has to go in the ever expanding bs bin.

[veer]

is this written by YUVI??

[Temujin Khaghan]

i think rahul dravid's explloits off the field will be exposed. he is like tiger woods jr.

[Params7]

Parting and having sex isn't illegal last I checked. If they're doing bad instead of criticizing on their lifestyle kick them out of the squad for a while. Bret Lee, Mitchell Johnson and one other one time got so drunk that they were kicked out from a pub in London iirc, but they come back to handle themselves fine in the international stage.

[SJS50]

1. Just because the source is anonymous does not mean what is written deserves to go to the BS bin. Just as just because a player says so openly does not make everything he says authentic and factually correct. We need to get our heads examined if it is reports like this that will make us think what those parties were all about. It was an open secret much before IPL-gate happened. 2. Just because something isn't illegal does not mean it cant be termed inappropriate. The disciplinary measure that coaches, captains, managers, teachers etc try to impose would not need any of them to do it if it covered only illegal activities. The police is there for that purpose. The way most people respond to reports like this (one way or the other) only goes to show what their 'pre-determined' positions are. After that we will use, say, interpret things the way we want to support our own prejudices/opinions. If one decided to be objective, and willing to think for onerself, one would see things much more clearly. Unfortunately, objectivity is not a very common trait and amongst cricket fans it is very rare indeed.

[punjabi_khota]

I don't think there is anything new in this article ? Please tell what is so surprising in what is written here ? :dontknow:

[Mamu]

1. Just because the source is anonymous does not mean what is written deserves to go to the BS bin. Just as just because a player says so openly does not make everything he says authentic and factually correct. We need to get our heads examined if it is reports like this that will make us think what those parties were all about. It was an open secret much before IPL-gate happened. 2. Just because something isn't illegal does not mean it cant be termed inappropriate. The disciplinary measure that coaches, captains, managers, teachers etc try to impose would not need any of them to do it if it covered only illegal activities. The police is there for that purpose. The way most people respond to reports like this (one way or the other) only goes to show what their 'pre-determined' positions are. After that we will use, say, interpret things the way we want to support our own prejudices/opinions. If one decided to be objective, and willing to think for onerself, one would see things much more clearly. Unfortunately, objectivity is not a very common trait and amongst cricket fans it is very rare indeed.

I agree with this 200%. Not just this, but a lot of other reports too. While I understand -- media could be a medium which could be abused by prople who have control over it. But to me that will only last so long -- especially in a country like India.

[Watson87]

How much does it cost to go into the parties? I might tweet Warny and ask him to give me a spot instead of Ravindra Jadeja, hope he givesme a chance like Kamran Khan

[achilles]

i think rahul dravid's explloits off the field will be exposed. he is like tiger woods jr.

Oh. Is it so? Coz I thought Yuvi was the Indian "Tiger" (pun intended) :P

[Temujin Khaghan]

Oh. Is it so? Coz I thought Yuvi was the Indian "Tiger" (pun intended) :P

i dont know man... havent yet seen a tiger with a belly like a tomato sack...

[f.b.m]

1. Just because the source is anonymous does not mean what is written deserves to go to the BS bin. Just as just because a player says so openly does not make everything he says authentic and factually correct.

You're missing the point. I was talking about credibility, not factual accuracy. What I said was "I'm not going to take this seriously" not "its all false". I thought that was fairly clear.

[saneindian]

Didn't the fakeiplplayer tell us about all this in his blog last year? As Dhoni said, one needs to manage himself properly. Such things are quite common in all international sport. But a professional athelete should know where to draw the line. And this is where I have been most disappointed with Zaheer Khan. He resurrected his almost dead career with lot of hard work and dedication, but in the last 3-4 months, seems to have fallen back to his bad old ways. A captain and coach who aren't ready to crack the whip to get the discipline in the group back isn't helping us either. And with a board busy counting the $$s or fighting legal cases, expect things to get worse unless the players themselves realise the kind of damage they are doing to their own career.

[Zap_Brannigan]

Didn't the fakeiplplayer tell us about all this in his blog last year?

Fake IPL player was an attention whoring nobody who was in India all the time making up fantasies and had a group of clueless idiots believing him for a very long time. Nothing he said was true,probably like this article with no source.

[Zelig]

Who the f gave him a contract:mad:

[DomainK]

I dont care what they are doing in parties and if they are sleeping with women.

[Temujin Khaghan]

I dont care what they are doing in parties and if they are sleeping with women.

i think u meant to end ur statement with- "...as long they are winning a lot more often".

[Ranjha]

i think u meant to end ur statement with- "...as long they are winning a lot more often".

Even if they are not winning, they should still sleep with women, unless ofcourse they prefer the same sex. If I get to bang a chick, why cant cricketers? Its only natural.

[someone]

Even if they are not winning, they should still sleep with women, unless ofcourse they prefer the same sex. If I get to bang a chick, why cant cricketers? Its only natural.

Yep after all a cricketer is as a good as he thinks, if they are tried and cannot have freedom according to themselves, they will play bad. So this is another breaking news out of nothing. This inside story tells nothing and for a fact, there are no names and reliable sources to tell us all is true.

[The Outsider]

I don't think there is anything new in this article ? Please tell what is so surprising in what is written here ? :dontknow:

Exactly. What did people think these parties were about anyways to act so surprised?