The altercation between some Indian cricketers and fans at a nightclub in the West Indies - which has put some players in the dock - was instigated by a drunk gang of expats who were incensed with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's performance.

According to sources, the gang, comprising six or seven individuals, unleashed a torrent of abuse at Jadeja, leading to an altercation with players which has snowballed into a huge controversy in the wake of India's poor performance in the World T20. The incident happened after India had lost to Sri Lanka in their last Super Eight match and been ousted from the tournament. Jadeja, it seems, was the fall guy as he had performed badly both with bat and ball.

"It wasn't a nightclub as some sections of the media have reported. It so happened that Ravindra Jadeja was having food when some drunk Indian fans arrived and used four-letter words. They asked the cricketer to find some other corner in the restaurant. This was vehemently protested by Murali Vijay, who was also abused," a source who witnessed the fracas told TOI.

"Soon, Ashish Nehra intervened and even he was abused. Seeing this, Yuvraj Singh took Nehra aside and called for the security guards. Zaheer Khan too protested as the 'fans' keep hurling abuses. But the situation was brought under control in the next couple of minutes. The drunk Indian fans were taken aside by security," the source added.

Sources also insisted that no 'brawl' had taken place, even though the cricketers - Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla - have received show cause notices from the BCCI. They are expected to furnish an explanation within seven days. It could not be ascertained, however, if those showcause notices had been dispatched.

"The players did nothing wrong," the source said, "It was an issue blown out of proportion. Rohit and Piyush Chawla were not even involved in the argument. They were standing right behind the senior cricketers who chose to protest after being abused. Even Suresh Raina was present there to have his dinner. New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris was also there with some members of the Kiwi support staff, as were some Australian players."