New Delhi: Who knew that the Hyderabadi Biryani could cook up a controversy and make Indian Cricket Team's captain Mahendra singh Dhoni angry. As the Champions League is in full flow, Chennai Super King's captain Mahendra singh Dhoni moved his entire team out of Hyderabad's five-star hotel, as the hotel staff prevented the team to have home-cooked Biryani, sent by Ambati Rayudu for the team mates.
As Dhoni could not compromise with his love for home-cooked food he angrily moved out of hotel with his entire team squad and support staff.
Rayudu on Tuesday was playing for Mumbai Indians. Sources said it was on his request the birayani cooked at his Hyderabad home was sent to the hotel.
As the players don't easily get a chance to enjoy home-cooked food because of the long tour schedules, CSK captain Dhoni surely did not want to compromise with platter of home cooked Biryani.
Though, the reasons of the team shifting to other hotel raises a question, weather the Biryani was the exact reason or something else was cooking with the entire team at the hotel.
"We don't know if biryani was the cause of the shift. I'm told Dhoni was not happy with the hotel," an official said.
Eventually, the entire team with Dhoni was shifted to hotel Grand Kakatiya, where 180 rooms were booked for the team, support staff and board officials.
Grand Kakatiya, however, has strict rules against consumption of outside food in the hotel premises. In this case the management was, a source said, willing to relent a bit and let the players partake the biryani in their rooms. But Dhoni was adamant on using the board room. That's when the hotel put its foot down.
Abruptly, keeping the security reasons on priority list, the local police was called to have a security check at the hotel.
Hyderabadi Biryani is believed to have been invented and perfected in the kitchens of the Nizam, the rulers of the erstwhile Hyderabad State.
While the Grand Kakatiya staff confirmed that the Chennai Super Kings abruptly moved out on Tuesday afternoon, they refused to elaborate. "You should ask the Chennai team management what happened and why they vacated," said a member of the hotel's public relations team.
The hotel's general manager George Verghese too refused comment on the incident. "We're a five-star deluxe facility and there are five other such hotels in the city. One is free to pick one's place of stay," he said. When specifically asked if outside food was the trigger, Verghese remained non-committal.
A top BCCI official, who did not wish to be identified, also confirmed the abrupt change of hotel, but refused to dwell further.
CSK spokesman Russel Radhakrishnana refused to take any questions on the biryani incident.
Russel Radhakrishnana said, "If you have information about such incidents you may write so. All I can say is we were not happy with the hotel and we moved out,".
