We can't talk to the players: Cheerleaders

Team Rajasthan's cheerleaders get out and get chatty with TOI.
In Jaipur, we caught Team Rajasthan’s cheerleaders in an unusually chatty mood and learnt quite a few things – that while they’re essential to add oomph on the field in the IPL, they’re not allowed to talk to players, that they are awed by everything royal, and that since it’s difficult to remember names, they’ve given cricketers nicknames.
We feel like superstars here
Ukraine’s Ganzha tags her stint in India as “awesome”, and says, “We feel like superstars when we perform on the ground. People are very emotional here and they scream all the time. Besides, people are asking us all the time to have pictures clicked with them, even asking us for autographs, but it is a nice feeling.”
Dravid’s called Batman
Ask them about their favourite players, and they get confused because they don’t remember their names. “We forget Indian names, but we know the jersey numbers and can recognise them by face.” So what have they named captain Rahul Dravid? “We call him Batman,” they all say unanimously, while Brad Hodge is the Showman, since he “behaves like a showman,” says Natalyo Natskina.
It's sad, we are not allowed to communicate with players
All the cheergirls have their favourites, but unfortunately, they aren’t allowed to communicate with them. Yulia Yelisieieva rues, “I have once spoken to the players, but it’s not allowed to speak with them.” Ghanza says, “We look on the internet to get information about the players. You know, it’s a pity and it’s not normal that we are not allowed to talk to the players.” They’ve also begun to understand the game. Natalyo explains, “Back home in Ukraine, there is no cricket. Initially, it was hard to understand it, but now we do. Sometimes, we forget to dance as we are totally engrossed in the game.”
We are used to comments
“Sometimes we get compliments and sometimes, bad comments, but we understand the people and their emotions, they are very emotional for their team. It is normal for cheerleaders, because we are used to good and bad comments,” Tanya tells us.
We'd love to meet Shilpa
They have seen Bollywood movies in Ukraine, but they want to meet the owner of their team, Shilpa Shetty. “We have seen Shilpa on TV. She is an amazing dancer and a good woman, and we wish to meet her,” the cheerleaders say.