Bangalore: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will honour the victorious Indian team of 1983 World Cup to mark the 25th anniversary of a historic win scripted by Kapil Dev and his team.
As part of events to celebrate the memorable event, the BCCI will felicitate the winning team at a special event in New Delhi June 22 and send the heroes of 1983 to Lords to relive the day (June 25) it lifted the third ODI World Cup, beating the West Indies at the venue 25 years ago.
"Board chairman Sharad Pawar will felicitate each player of the 1983 Indian team in Delhi with mementoes and cash awards. The team will fly to London a day later for touring the Lords June 25 to relive the glorious day by going down the memory lane," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters on Tuesday here.
The Bangalore-based UB group, led by its chairman Vijay Mallya, will host a dinner in honour of the winning team in London the same night (June 25).
"A special cricket bat signed by the entire team of 1983 and studded with diamonds will be auctioned by UB group in association with an auction house," Shah said.
Shah hoped the current Indian team would repeat the 1983 victory in the next ODI World Cup tournament to be played in the sub-continent in 2011 and not allow the 1983 team to celebrate the golden jubilee without the country lifting the prestigious cup 25 years later.
Kapil Dev, batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar, wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani and pace bowler Roger Binny of the 1983 World Cup team, who were present on the occasion, recalled the trials and tribulations they had gone through that summer a generation ago to reach the finals and deny the West Indies a hat-trick in winning the tournament.
In a statement, Pawar said cricket had always been the most popular sport in India, as evident from the tremendous success of the recent T20 Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, attracting millions of viewers and giving a shot in the arm to Indian cricket by attracting talented players from the world over.
"The most remembered event in the history of Indian cricket, however, is the stunning victory of our team against West Indies - the then cricket superpower. I am certain that every cricketer in the years to come has this rich legacy to inherit and the diehard spirit to win," Pawer noted.
Comments
0 comment