First off: professional cricket has cheerleaders?  Well, I guess they have to do something to try and keep the spectators awake for those day long snooze-fests. But back to the story.

Gabriella Pasqualotto, 28, (pictured at right in the center, we think) from South Africa is part of the cheer squad for the–we’re not making this up–Mumbai Indians. Apparently she was brought in to be part of their cheer squad and, once hired, was also asked to blog about her experiences not only on the team but being in India for the first time. Her main observations appeared to be that during after match parties with the players, the cheerleaders were “treated like pieces of meat” and that flirting between the two groups was pretty common. And, somehow, this basic fact of male/female interaction upset the rather staid old cricket establishment, so they did the right thing. No, they didn’t tell the male cricketers to treat the ladies better. Instead, they kicked Pasqualotto off the squad.

Yeah, that’ll fix things.

Here’s more from ESPN Star:

Pasqualotto’s blogs dealt mostly with her experience in India and the glamorous world of IPL. However, it became an issue after it was reported that she made some allegations against the cricketers, that they are ‘not so innocent in the after-match parties,‘ the website reported.

Before the commencement of IPL-4, the cheer girls had been told to behave in accordance with the team rules and to not get too close to the cricketers. Pasqualotto, though, feels it is just hypocritical. She alleged that quite a few cheer girls have been ‘intimate’ with some players despite the warnings.

“On Tuesday, last week, I was sent home as if I was a criminal. I was treated as if I had taken drugs or done something awful, and I was never offered an opportunity to give my side of the story. We couldn’t go anywhere without the crowds mobbing us and many of the girls did not behave. But nothing I wrote was directed at any one person. I think the cricketer who complained had a guilty conscience,” the girl was quoted saying by the website.

She added: “It’s a joke. There were cameras everywhere at these after-parties watching what they got up to. The guys treated us like pieces of meat,” she was quoted as saying.