New Delhi. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is considered the richest cricket board in the world. The BCCI organises the world’s most expensive cricket league. The Indian cricket team won the trophy by defeating South Africa in the recent ICC T20 World Cup. This wait of 17 years of the fans is over. A prize money of 125 crores was announced by the board. But do you know that there was a time when the board did not have money to reward the team that won the World Cup, then the great Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar had arranged for it.
Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar Ji, known as the ‘Nightingale of India’, is no more in this world but she is always alive in our hearts. Lata Ji, who is addressed as Didi, loved cricket a lot. Her love for this game was such that when the Indian team won the World Cup for the first time in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil Dev and the BCCI did not have money, she collected the prize money by organizing a free concert.
Lata ji gave a concert for free
It was the year 1983 when the Indian team won the title by defeating two-time world champion West Indies. Kapil Dev’s team achieved a historic victory but BCCI did not have money to reward the players. At that time the president of the board was NKP Salve and he sought help from Lata Mangeshkar. Without thinking, this great singer organized a concert in Delhi. Rs 20 lakh was collected from this concert and BCCI gave a reward of Rs 1 lakh each to the players of the World Cup winning team.
Lifetime reserved seats in every stadium
BCCI made a special proposal as a token of gratitude to Lata Ji for coming forward and performing a concert without charging any fee in difficult times. The board decided that as long as she is alive, a seat will be reserved for her to watch the match in every stadium in India. This great singer passed away on 6 February 2022 at the age of 92. The board will always remember her contribution.
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 2, 2024, 20:42 IST