Why BCCI used to reserve two seats for Lata Mangeshkar for every India match?
Lata Mangeshkar (Image source: Twitter)
The Board Of Control For Cricket India (BCCI) used to reserve two tickets for Late singing legend Lata Mangeshkar. In the honor of the great singer, the board used to reserve two tickets for Mangeshkar before every game in India. She and her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar always came to watch an international game at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in the 70s decade.
On February 6, the veteran singer breathed her last after battling COVID-19 and pneumonia for a month. Meanwhile, a BCCI official revealed that they used to keep two tickets for Lataji to honour her contribution. Lata Mangeshkar once helped BCCI raise INR 20 lakh for the 1983 World Cup winning team.
“Like we have quota for sponsors, state associations for each match, similarly two tickets were kept for Lataji in every match,” said the BCCI official.
India had beaten the defending champions and two-time winners West Indies at the Lord’s Cricket Ground to win their maiden 50-over World Cup. However, the board didn’t have funds to reward the players. Raj Singh Dungarpur, the then cricket administrator, turned to the legendary singer for a charity concert and Lata Mangeshkar gratefully obliged. She didn’t charge a single penny for the same. The concert, which also saw Indian players join Lataji on stage, raised 20 Lakhs.
