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Blame it on the boogie!

Indian skipper MS Dhoni's IPL comment after yet another T20 debacle has stirred up a hornet's nest. Under fire after India's exit in the Super 8s stage of the ongoing World T20, Dhoni said that the team's jaded performance could, in part, be attributed to the glitzy IPL post-match parties and travelling. Cricketers speak:Vijay Dahiya | Kiran More | Madan Lal

Updated on: May 13, 2010 05:40 PM IST
Agencies | By , New Delhi
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Indian skipper MS Dhoni's IPL comment after yet another T20 debacle has stirred up a hornet's nest. Under fire after India's exit in

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the Super 8s stage of the ongoing World T20, Dhoni said that the team's jaded performance could, in part, be attributed to the glitzy IPL post-match parties and travelling for matches.

"The players have to respect the body, give it time to recover. There have been day-night matches, then parties, and early morning flights too. All this, including the travel, takes a toll," he said candidly.

That may not sound like a skipper's typical brand of classy condone.

Of course, Dhoni said a lot more in the interview, but this was the part that raised a storm. Was he just shifting the blame on IPL for the team's bad performance or was he running out of reasons to explain his team's debacle?

The commentt was not taken too kindly or shall we say, not everyone was buying his reason for the exit.

Former India coach Madan Lal said, "Who was forcing them (players) to attend these IPL parties? They could have said ‘no'. I don't think they should say all this. These are silly excuses."

Silly? yes they are. Echoing same sentiments - even strongly- Mehr Jessia, the former Miss India and wife of actor Arjun Rampal, whose jointly-owned event management company, Chasing Ganesha, organised the much-hyped IPL nights, said, "A lot of foreign players attended these IPL nights and their teams are doing brilliantly in the T20 World Cup. What about them?"

"Nobody can force any sportsman to attend the parties. Some players did not attend the IPL nights. It was not binding on them," Mehr groused.

Dhoni also faced harsh criticism from Shilpa Shetty made her point on Twitter. She wrote "IPL parties didn't not seem to bring fatigue to star players from England, Australia or Sri Lanka."

"Done and dusted. India busted," said Mandira Bedi's Tweet.

Looks like MSD has more trouble in store for him ahead as rumours say that the BCCI may be thinking of axeing him.

So much for all this controversy, at least the party was fab!!

 
Get the Cricket Live Score! including IPL Matches and track ICC rankings shifts, Cricket Schedule, and Players Stats along with detailed score profiles of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill.
Get the Cricket Live Score! including IPL Matches and track ICC rankings shifts, Cricket Schedule, and Players Stats along with detailed score profiles of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill.
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