Does anyone remember the effect Mandira Bedi had on Set Max's women viewership? Politicians and therefore the police are getting concerned about cheerleaders:

Some politicians say the cheerleaders are "vulgar and obscene".

Mumbai police say they will be checking that the cheerleaders' performances do not violate entertainment licences.

The cheerleading girls, wearing short skirts and low-cut tops, have been hired from around the world to perform during the matches which are also being heavily endorsed by leading Bollywood stars.

Might this be the reason why cricket needs cheerleaders? The IPL is certainly drawing in more women viewers:

No less than 36 per cent of the television viewership for the first two matches played on April 18 and April 19 was contributed by women, according to TAM Media Research. All told, 8.2 million women in six metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore) watched cricket on television those nights, giving serials the miss.

For long, media planners have lived in the belief that women do not watch sports on television and prefer soap operas and films. Accordingly, women-only brands choose not to advertise on sports channels.