Cabbie loan default stumps 3 cricket stars on highway

In these hard times of economic slowdown,when defaults in home and car loans are commonplace,three of Indias rising leading second-string cricketers....

In these hard times of economic slowdown,when defaults in home and car loans are commonplace,three of Indias rising leading second-string cricketers were caught in the middle of one such story.

On Wednesday evening,Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara,Mumbai spinner Iqbal Abdulla and Gujarat batsman Bhavik Thaker were going to the airport after their West Zone team won the Deodhar Trophy tournament when they were stopped by two men on a motorcycle on the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar highway.

I told the driver not to stop but the bikers sped up and forced us to halt by blocking our path, Pujara told The Indian Express on Friday.

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The men approached the players vehice and one of them pulled out the car keys,asking the driver to move to the back seat.

One of the men got behind the wheel and started driving away while the players were still in the car. For a few moments,we were all very scared. We thought they were thieves who wanted to steal our money, said Abdulla.

When the players asked the men to stop the car and explain themselves,they said that they were recovery agents,who were repossessing the vehicle because the owner had defaulted on his monthly loan instalments.

The two men asked the players to go with them,but refused to tell them where they were being taken.

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We explained to the agents that we were cricketers and had nothing to do with the owner of the vehicle. We told them they could take the car and driver,but leave us alone. After a 15-minute discussion,they finally agreed and we got out with our luggage and kit-bags, said Abdulla. The players,stranded on the highway,called the Orissa Cricket Association to send another vehicle.

Saroj Ranjankar,who was the local manager of West Zone team during the tournament,said: It was some problem between the travel agent and the bank.

Orissa Cricket Association secretary Asirbad Behera said the association had blacklisted the travel agent. Well make sure that such things dont happen again. What if those travelling in the car had been under-14 or under-16 boys? From here on well ensure that a manger accompanies players to the airport, said Behera.