How do cheer girls help cricket, BCCI asked

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) How do cheer girls promote thecause of cricket? Why are players auctioned like "gladiators"in IPL system of cricket?

These were some of the questions that members of theParliamentary Standing Committee on Finance posed to top BCCIofficials, including its President Shashank Manohar, SecretaryN Srinivasan and IPL Commissioner Chirayu Amin during ahearing on financial transactions related to the conduct ofIPL.

While the BCCI top brass claimed that IPL would help thecause of cricket and attract more talent, it was at loss toexplain the role of cheer girls, sources told PTI.

It is learnt that the BCCI officials put the onus ofintroducing the concept on sacked IPL chief Lalit Modi.

Some of the members of the Committee, headed by BJP MPYashwant Sinha, also questioned the concept of auctioning theplayers like "gladiators". They said it reminded them of theRoman empire when men were sold to bidders on the basis oftheir physical strength.

Manohar, Srinivasan and Amin were quizzed by the MPsfor about two-and-a-half hours about the alleged FEMAviolations.

The BCCI was asked about the funding pattern of thehighly popular IPL and the methods adopted for payment toforeign and Indian players.

The Committee also sought details of the expensesincurred on the conduct of the second edition of the Twenty20tournament in South Africa in 2009.

The IPL was held in the African nation in 2009 due to aclash of dates with the general elections in India.