Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar was shocked to hear the sad news of the passing away of former Indian cricket board president NKP Salve. "I was very close to him and his family," she recalled.


Lata Mangeshkar

"He made a special request to me to do a special programme for the victorious 1983 World Cup team and I could not say no to him.

Being BCCI president at the time, he wanted to present Rs 1 lakh to each member of the team. I could not resist his request and many members of the Indian team were on dais for the specially composed song for the team," said Lataji.

It can be recalled that Salve's determination to get the next World Cup to India was fuelled when his request for two additional passes for the 1983 World Cup final was denied by the hosts of the match.

Lataji spoke about Salve's singing talents: "He was a good singer and harmonium player. He loved shayris very much and used to talk to me in Marathi," she added.