Cricket South Africa plans to send the team a bill for the damage caused by the players while celebrating their Wanderers win in the dressing room.
CAPE TOWN: After the disappointing 2-1 Test series defeat to South Africa, more embarrassment may be in store for India.
Cricket South Africa plans to send the team a bill for the damage caused by the players while celebrating their Wanderers win in the dressing room.
It is learnt that the Gauteng Cricket Association (GCA), which hosted the Test, is moving the CSA to seek compensation.
The players, who were celebrating India’s first win in South Africa, sprayed champagne and threw cake all over each other and the room. As a result, the visitors’ dressing room bore little resemblance to the tidy place that was handed over to the team on December 15, when the Test began.
The “most damaged” parts were the ceiling and the carpet, which now have “permanent stains”. After trying their luck with dry-cleaners and chemical experts, who had no success in removing the stains, the Gauteng board has moved the CSA for help.
A source said the dressing room was a sight to behold as the team celebrated its historic win. Coach Greg Chappell and media manager Rajan Nair were drenched in champagne and wine.
Happiest of the revellers, reports said, was Virender Sehwag. Sachin Tendulkar initially sounded a cautionary note, saying the team may not be welcome in the dressing room again if it made a mess, but no one paid heed. Sehwag reportedly retorted: “Who knows when we will come next to the Wanderers, and if we will ever win here again?” Eventually, Tendulkar too joined in the celebrations.
Both Chappell and captain Rahul Dravid reportedly said later that they wished “the boys had learnt how to drink and enjoy champagne and wine rather than waste it”.
It remains to be seen if the Board of Control for Cricket in India would ask the players to cough up the money if it receives a bill or take care of it keeping in mind the historic occasion.
BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said the board would seek a report from the team’s manager and media manager before deciding on its course of action. The board’s chief administrative officer, Ratnakar Shetty, refused to react to media reports. “Let Cricket South Africa send us the letter first,” he said.
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