New Delhi. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is considered to be the richest cricket board in the world. BCCI organizes the most expensive cricket league in the world. The Indian cricket team won the trophy by defeating South Africa in the recent ICC T20 World Cup. The 17-year long wait for fans is now over. The prize money of Rs 125 crore was announced by the board. But did you know that there was a time when the board did not have the money to reward the team that won the World Cup, Bollywood’s legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar arranged for it.
Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar ji known as the great singer of Bollywood ‘Swar Kokila’ is no more in this world but she is always alive in all our hearts. Lataji, who is addressed as Didi, was very fond of cricket. Such was his love for the game that in 1983, when the Indian team won the World Cup for the first time under the captaincy of Kapil Dev and the BCCI had no money, he gave a free concert to collect the prize money.
Lataji did a free concert
It was 1983 when the Indian team won the title by defeating two-time world champions West Indies. Kapil Dev’s team achieved a historic win but the BCCI did not have the money to reward the players. At that time the chairman of the board was NKP Salve and he sought help from Lata Mangeshkar. Without thinking, this great singer gave a concert in Delhi. 20 lakh rupees were collected from this concert and BCCI gave a prize of 1 lakh rupees to the players of the World Cup winning team.
Lifetime seat reservation in each stadium
The BCCI made a special proposal as a mark of gratitude to Lataji for coming forward in difficult times and giving the concert without charging any fee. The board decided that seats would be reserved for him to watch matches in every stadium in India as long as he was alive. The great singer passed away on 6 February 2022 at the age of 92. His contribution will always be remembered by the Board.
First published: July 2, 2024, 20:42 IST