Bombay Brasseries among corporate participants in the gala sport event
The cricket world legends, winners of the 1983 world cup, shared their cricketing experiences with 1,000 members of the Indian diaspora in Singapore over the weekend of 7 to 9 Aug 2026 as guest participants in the annual tournament organized by the Mariners’ Cricket Club of Singapore (MCC), a non-profit group of professionals with a global network of seafarers.
The legends played with 65 teams formed by 300-member of MMC which lived-stream the event to more than 2,000 commercial ships out at sea, said MCC, organizers representing former mariners. Corporate executives, as members of the non-profit organization MMC, came in sporting attires with bats for the gala event, a first of its kind to be held in Southeast Asia.
The legends’ visit to the diaspora community of Singapore started with a celebration lunch on 7 Aug at the Bombay Brasseries Singapore, a five-star restaurant of the Taj Hotels, and a gala dinner at the Orchard Hotel which was attended by more than 600 guests from sectors involved in promoting the sport, said MCC which has been doing regular charity work and donations.
“The historic 1983 World Cup-winning squad reunited for an epoch-making tour in South-East Asia since their triumph,” said the club, formed in early 2000.
The three-day gala event offered a rare platform for sports enthusiasts, corporate leaders, and industry executives to engage with iconic sporting figures while promoting leadership, resilience, and teamwork, said MCC which brings together executives from the global maritime sector through a shared passion for cricket.
A specialized 90-minute interactive techno-commercial workshops was held, translating insights from the elite sports fraternity into actionable business strategies for goal-setting, handling challenges, and team motivation—fabricating a structured model to build cricket as a sustainable commodity in this part of the globe.
“Furthermore, broadcasting our showcase match live to thousands of mariners working out at sea reinforces Singapore’s unmatched global connectivity, celebrates the deep camaraderie that defines our maritime industry, and allows us to serve as a tireless torch-bearer to promote cricket in South-East Asia,” said Avijit Dutta, President of MCC Singapore. “It is a unique event of its kind in South East Asia,” he highlighted.
“The 1983 World Cup victory remains a definitive masterclass in overcoming impossible odds through collective unity and visionary leadership,” said Dutta, who leads the premier cricket organization in the prosperous city state and has brought together professionals from the maritime and related corporate industries.
“This landmark tour brought that historic legacy directly into Singapore’s vibrant corporate and sports ecosystem. By combining elite sports psychology with premium networking, we aim to inspire our local business community and the next generation of athletes,” he said.
M. Neethianathan, a former Singapore cricketer and a vice-president of the Indian Association on the Blastier Plains, said the MCC tournament for 2026 turned out to be “very interesting for an event that has ever happened at the club.” He applauded the star-studded Team of 1983 World Cup participation in the tournament.”
Added Anupam Sarpal, a shipping group executive, who attended the cricket carnival, “the young and aspirant crickets will benefit from the participation of Team of Legends.”
“It was a good event for youths, and it will inspire young cricketers,” he added, noting the strong demand for photo-shoots with the stars.
More than 1,500 cricket enthusiasts attended the cricket carnival during the weekend of 7-9 Aug. fiinews.com
