3 funniest cake-cutting ceremonies in Indian men's dressing room

The new era of the Indian team is not one to shy away from celebrations. From monumental wins to birthdays, the contingent knows how to mark an occasion. The trademark of this merrymaking almost always has a cake in the spotlight.

Countless cake-cutting ceremonies have been witnessed over the years, mostly in hotels and dressing rooms, where the team is stationed during an international tour or even a home series for that matter.

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid recently celebrated his 50th birthday, which was marked with a cake-cutting ceremony in the lobby of the hotel they were residing in, ahead of the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens on Thursday, January 12.

The ceremony involved a light moment after Ishan Kishan inadvertently pushed KL Rahul's trolley luggage in the direction of the man of the moment. However, he did manage to stop the luggage in time, sharing a glance and a laugh with his wicketkeeper compatriot.

Such funny instances are never far away when a jolly group like the Indian players get together to revel in the joy of the occasion.

Here are the three funniest cake-cutting ceremonies in the Indian men's dressing room.

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#1 MS Dhoni 36th birthday celebration (July 7, 2017)

2017 marked the year when MS Dhoni relinquished his ODI captaincy. Recovering from their Champions Trophy final in June 2017, the team celebrated the wicketkeeper's 36th birthday ahead of a T20I clash against West Indies at Sabina Park.

While smearing frosting or pushing the face onto a cake has become a common tradition, Dhoni was a step ahead and put his face on a secondary cake that was placed on the side of the one he was about to cut. Family members of the players were taken aback and cheered the move.

However, the ploy did not work for the former skipper as Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan proceeded to smear more of the cream onto his face and hair, leading to a hilarious reaction from the members present in the room.

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#2 Hardik Pandya's birthday cake-cutting ceremony (October 11th, 2017)

Hardik Pandya has been an enigmatic figure since making his debut in 2016. Coming into the side as a brash all-rounder, he has evolved to be part of Team India's leadership group at present.

His 24th birthday, on October 11, 2017, which he also shares with former Indian backroom staff Sanjay Bangar and Patrick Farhart, sparked wild celebrations in the dressing room.

Teammates wasted no time launching onto Hardik, with cake all over his hair and torso. Rohit Sharma was seen throwing frosting as well, while Yuzvendra Chahal even found a way to smear the cake on the all-rounder's back.

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#3 Virat Kohli 26th birthday cake cutting (November 2016)

Virat Kohli turned 28 in 2016, a year that was arguably one of his finest. He slammed four centuries in IPL 2016, ending the season as the leading run-scorer. His imperious 973-run tally stands tall to date. He was also adjudged the Player of the Tournament at the 2016 T20 World Cup on home soil.

The cake-cutting ceremony, which was held ahead of their five-match Test series against England, saw the Indian contingent assemble together, which included then-coach Anil Kumble. The fact that the cake-cutting ceremony is etched in memory is due to Ravichandran Ashwin's hilarious attempt to paste pieces of cake on Kohli's hair and forehead.

As far as his other teammates are concerned, Kohli could do nothing but stand still as the likes of Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, and Hardik Pandya began smearing cake, leaving no area uncovered.

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