Women’s ODI World Cup: Opening ceremony toned down for Zubeen Garg’s death

GUWAHATI

The opening ceremony for the Women’s ODI World Cup has been toned down as Assam continues to mourn the death of iconic singer-composer Zubeen Garg, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Devajit Saikia said on Friday (September 26, 2025).

The inaugural match between co-hosts India and Sri Lanka would be held on September 30 at Guwahati’s Barsapara cricket stadium, one of five where the tournament will be held till November 2. The other venues are Indore, Navi Mumbai, and Visakhapatnam in India, and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

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Addressing journalists along with Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Secretary Tridib Konwar at Barsapara, Mr Saikia said the BCCI and ACA had grand plans for the opening ceremony before September 19, the day Garg died in Singapore under mysterious circumstances.

“We decided to cut the frills and make it a solemn 40-minute programme dedicated to the legendary Zubeen Garg. Renowned playback singer Shreya Ghosal is also scheduled to sing as a tribute to Garg during the break of the inaugural match,” Mr Saikia said.

He also said the ACA purchased 5,000 tickets, priced ₹100 each, to be distributed to Garg fans on a first-come-first-serve basis. These tickets would be available at the Guwahati Sports Association office in the Nehru Stadium complex on September 29.

“The World Cup, the biggest international cricket tournament to be held in Guwahati, is expected to generate interest in cricket among girls across the northeast. Popularising the game in smaller urban centres and remote areas is the motive behind the BCCI’s decision to gradually move marquee matches to non-tier 1 cities,” Mr Saikia said, adding that Navi Mumbai was chosen as a venue specifically for logistical reasons.

He also said the BCCI has invited all the captains of the Indian women’s cricket teams since 1975 for the inaugural match. “We plan to felicitate them for representing the country and encouraging girls to take up cricket professionally,” he said.

The former Team India skippers who have confirmed their participation are Shubhangi Kuklarni, Nilima Joglekar, Sandhya Agarwal, Mamatha Maben, Shantha Rangaswamy, Purnima Rau, Chandrakanta Kaul, Anju Jain, Pramila Bhatt, Anjum Chopra, and Mithali Raj.

West Bengal’s Rumeli Dhar and Jhulan Goswami are expected to attend any of the four other matches to be hosted in Guwahati.

Neetu David, the second Indian woman cricketer to be inducted into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame after Diana Edulji, will also be felicitated during the inaugural match.