MUMBAI, AUGUST 1 After spending three weeks with the Indian cricket team during the Asia Cup, Pakistani masseur Sohail Ahmed was on Saturday ‘‘ordered to leave’’ by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary SK Nair.

Spotting the masseur wearing the Indian colours and the BCCI logo on the vest, Nair cornered Ahmed in front of everyone in the hotel lobby, according to agency reports from Colombo. ‘‘Who is this man wearing Indian colours, moving around in the team bus and is in the dressing room when matches are on?’’ Nair thundered giving Ahmed a piece of his mind.

According to reports coming in, Ahmed, ashen-faced, quickly changed the Indian vest and did not accompany the team for the practice on Saturday. ‘‘I could watch Sachin Tendulkar sitting in the team bus, looking at me strangely as to why I am not accompanying them. But I couldn’t tell him that I have been off-loaded from the bus,’’ Ahmed would say afterwards.

Immediately after the sacking, when The Indian Express correspondent Trevor Chesterfield tried speaking to the Indian team management, he was pushed around by the security personnel attached with the Indians. The Indian team management has been fighting shy of letting Ahmed speak to the media and repeated attempts by this paper were stonewalled. Only coach John Wright was ready to offer that ‘‘the team was happy with Ahmed’’ while he lasted.

Ahmed — very popular with the Indian team — was referred to as ‘Papey Bhai’ by the players. In fact, what prompted the action from Nair is unknown because Ahmed was part of the Indian entourage even in Pakistan and he travelled with the team there as well.