Bangalore, June 3 (ANI/Business Wire India): Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the UB Group, in its endeavour to uphold appreciation for great sportsmen, announced their plans to honor the 1983 World Cup winners and commemorate the 25th anniversary of this cricketing milestone.

As a part of these celebrations, the BCCI will hold a special event in Delhi on June 22nd to felicitate the players, following which the entire team will be touring Lords on 25th June, to mark this special day.

This visit to Lords will be followed by a gala dinner hosted by the UB Group in London. Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar presented a special cricket bat signed by the entire team of 1983, which will be encrusted with diamonds and auctioned by the UB Group in association with an auction house.

"This is our way of ensuring that the silver jubilee celebrations are memorable for millions of those who were a either a part of it or yearned to be one," echoed Kapil and Gavaskar.

Lauding the Indian heroes, Sharad Pawar, President, BCCI, said, "Cricket has always been the most popular sport in India. The recent Twenty20 matches have attracted viewers from all segments of society and have given a shot in the arm to Indian cricket by attracting players from around the world. However, the most remembered event in the history of Indian cricket 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."

Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman of the UB Group and CEO of Kingfisher Airlines, said, "The UB Group's legendary association with sports in India is a relentless pursuit to raise the bar for the game and match international standards. Sports association has given us a great opportunity and a platform to showcase our brand portfolio. Today Indian sportsmen have become global icons - a value reflection in the UB brands"

Speaking on the occasion, Vijay Rekhi, President and Managing Director, United Spirits Limited, said, "At United Spirits, we have always beaten world records and created new standards. Our association with the World beaters of cricket in 1983 and the 25th year celebrations is a tribute to our cricket heroes and millions of our brand patrons."

Kalyan Ganguly, President and Managing Director, United Breweries Limited said, "It has always been our endeavour to attract aspiring sportspersons and encourage the achievers in sport. India's 1983 win has been a landmark event in the history of cricket in India. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the win is our way of thanking the cricket fraternity for bringing such glory and recognition to our country."

The UB Group has always helped in promoting various sports, be it football, Formulaone, Derby, Cricket or Tennis. The McDowell's No.1 Derby, which has been a landmark event in Indian sports, has been supported for more than 25 years by the UB Group.

UB owns and sponsors India's most famous football clubs - East Bengal and Mohan Bagan - now for more than a decade. The association with cricket goes beyond owning a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and sponsorship for four others; infact, Kingfisher is the "good times" partner for five teams in the recently concluded Indian Premier League!

Other similar initiatives include the Kingfisher Derby, partnership with the Mumbai Marathon, Delhi Half Marathon and Bangalore World 10k. In the past Kingfisher also sponsored the West Indies Cricket Team and the Benetton F1 Team in the 90s and have had associations with brand ambassadors such as Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan, Sourav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja, Baichung Bhutia, Narain Kartikeyan and Karun Chandok.

Kingfisher Airlines was also the Official Umpires Partner, the Official Airline and they had also instituted the Fly Kingfisher Fairplay Award - a new and unique initiative to reward fair play by teams and players during the Indian Premier League. Kingfisher Airlines has also been hosting the Kingfisher Tennis Open for the last two seasons. The latest addition to the sports legacy is Force India - the first F1 team to be owned by an Indian company, bringing the excitement of Formula1 racing to Indian shores.

ANI