Indian cricket board disconnects phone after 'mauka mauka' phone calls

The calm at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office was shattered by the constant ringing of the landlines on Friday as fans from Pakistan and Bangladesh the team India defeated in the quarterfinals called as many as 200 times to poke fun at India's exit, reports The Indian Express.

The callers were alluding to a Star Sports advertisement campaign in which the protagonist, a Pakistani fan, is shown waiting for his team to break the jinx of never having beaten Indian at the World Cup.

He is shown growing older with each unsuccessful attempt, but clings to his box of celebratory crackers, hoping for a turnaround.

After India beat Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval in their World Cup opener, the protagonist starts supporting other teams India play in the hope he would be able to celebrate. The background score in the advertisements was a qawwali containing the words 'mauka mauka'

The calls started around 4:00pm on Friday. After a point, the BCCI decided to disconnect the lines. "We got the telephone company to trace the origin of these calls. A large number of them were from Bangladesh, while the rest were from Pakistan," the BCCI staff member added.

Calls to the BCCI landline are usually regarding inquiries about dates of games or availability of match tickets. "This is the first time we have received calls from outside the country to mock the Indian team's performance," the staffer said.