[hilar]
By AP
MUMBAI - Cricket has a long history of streakers, but India's traditionalists are incensed that a model's barefaced cheek might mar Saturday's World Cup final.
Poonam Pandey has pledged to strip as a reward for India's players if they beat Sri Lanka. Her offer hasn't met with widespread approval.
Right wing parties have decried "such vulgarity and obscenity." Pandey says she will "do it for the Indian team and I really don't care about the rest of the world."
"We are totally against such vulgarity and obscenity," a member of an Indian right wing party told the Hindustan Times.
A spokesman for Shiv Sena, an extreme far right party, wants the government to step in to "make sure such acts should stop. If they do not handle it, we will."
Pandey can't understand what the fuss is about. She first made the offer before India's momentous semifinal win over Pakistan and stood by her promise on Friday, saying she will either strip for the team in the dressing room or on the pitch providing they beat Sri Lanka.
"Of course I am going to do it," Pandey told Friday's edition of the Times of India.
Not everyone is so outraged, and her offer has brought her nationwide fame quite a publicity stunt for the 20-year-old who is a calendar girl for an Indian airline.
On Friday morning, Poonam Pandey was the top trending topic on Twitter in India, and for the last few days, she has been among the most searched-for celebrities on the internet in the country.
Pandey says she has received plenty of support, but plans to ask permission from the Indian cricket authorities before going through with her promise.
"I really don't want to do anything that is against the law," she said.
Streakers have been a regular sight at cricket matches through the years, but not in India.
Back in 1977, Australian cricketer Greg Chappell took offense at a naked man running across the pitch at Auckland and thwacked him several times with his bat before the police arrived to arrest him.
The cheeky prankster tried to bring an assault charge against Chappell. The cricketer was cleared.
Sheila Nicholls picked the venerable Lord's ground in London as her venue of choice, cartwheeling naked on the hallowed turf in 1989. She went on to become a singer-songwriter, achieving some success in the United States where she toured with k.d. lang.
In football, Larissa Riquelme pledged to strip for the players if Paraguay won last year's World Cup. Her team was beaten in the quarterfinals, but the model went through with her promise to cheer up the country's disappointed fans.
By AP
MUMBAI - Cricket has a long history of streakers, but India's traditionalists are incensed that a model's barefaced cheek might mar Saturday's World Cup final.
Poonam Pandey has pledged to strip as a reward for India's players if they beat Sri Lanka. Her offer hasn't met with widespread approval.
Right wing parties have decried "such vulgarity and obscenity." Pandey says she will "do it for the Indian team and I really don't care about the rest of the world."
"We are totally against such vulgarity and obscenity," a member of an Indian right wing party told the Hindustan Times.
A spokesman for Shiv Sena, an extreme far right party, wants the government to step in to "make sure such acts should stop. If they do not handle it, we will."
Pandey can't understand what the fuss is about. She first made the offer before India's momentous semifinal win over Pakistan and stood by her promise on Friday, saying she will either strip for the team in the dressing room or on the pitch providing they beat Sri Lanka.
"Of course I am going to do it," Pandey told Friday's edition of the Times of India.
Not everyone is so outraged, and her offer has brought her nationwide fame quite a publicity stunt for the 20-year-old who is a calendar girl for an Indian airline.
On Friday morning, Poonam Pandey was the top trending topic on Twitter in India, and for the last few days, she has been among the most searched-for celebrities on the internet in the country.
Pandey says she has received plenty of support, but plans to ask permission from the Indian cricket authorities before going through with her promise.
"I really don't want to do anything that is against the law," she said.
Streakers have been a regular sight at cricket matches through the years, but not in India.
Back in 1977, Australian cricketer Greg Chappell took offense at a naked man running across the pitch at Auckland and thwacked him several times with his bat before the police arrived to arrest him.
The cheeky prankster tried to bring an assault charge against Chappell. The cricketer was cleared.
Sheila Nicholls picked the venerable Lord's ground in London as her venue of choice, cartwheeling naked on the hallowed turf in 1989. She went on to become a singer-songwriter, achieving some success in the United States where she toured with k.d. lang.
In football, Larissa Riquelme pledged to strip for the players if Paraguay won last year's World Cup. Her team was beaten in the quarterfinals, but the model went through with her promise to cheer up the country's disappointed fans.
