BCCI to pay tribute to Zubeen Garg

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to pay tributes to Zubeen Garg, the Assamese singer and cultural icon, who died in a scuba diving accident in Singapore recently. The memorial show will be held during the inauguration ceremony of the Women's World Cup on September 30 in Guwahati.

"There is a huge grief and tragic situation prevailing in Assam, following Zubeen's death. Keeping in consonance with that situation, and as a person who deserves some respect, the Assam Cricket Association and the BCCI will have a tribute programme during the opening ceremony. This will be our respect and tribute to Zubeen," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said on Sunday.

The inaugural game will be between co-hosts India and Sri Lanka. "It will be a 40-minute programme in memory of Zubeen and possibly the biggest tribute a cricketing fraternity can offer to him," said Saikia. Besides the tributes for Garg, there will also be a performance by Shreya Ghoshal, who will render a few Bollywood hits and the tournament's official song, Bring it Home.

Saikia hoped that the Indian team would be able to break the World Cup jinx this time. They ran close against favourites Australia in the just-concluded three-match ODI series before losing it 1-2.

"It was a very keenly contested series, which Australia won by 2-1. But India played extremely well. Australia are a very good team, but India are catching up. And till now, India have not won any ICC women's trophy, so this is a big opportunity for the team to do well.

"As the matches are being held in India as well as in Sri Lanka, everybody is backing the Indian team. Recently, they have done extremely well in England also, which is a big achievement for the Indian team. So, Indian women's cricket has come of age. I am sure they will make a remarkable performance in the upcoming World Cup. I hope that the jinx will be broken this time," Saikia said.