MUMBAI - Chhurim Sherpa, the lady mountaineer from Nepal, will carry the bat and jersey of late Phillip Hughes on the top of Mount Everest. This was revealed by Basant Chaudhary, the man who organised the Hiughes memorial match in Kathmandu on Saturday.  Speaking exclusively over his mobile from the Tribhuvan University Ground in Kathmandu, where the match was in progress, Chaudhary said: "Chhurim Sherpa had earlier climbed the Mt. Everest in 2011."
"The woman has agreed to carry Hughes' Philippines-made jersey and bat along with our country's national flat. During her journey to the top of the mountain, she will also sing the lyrics ("I feel proud of my nation") composed by me," he added.
Later, speaking exclusively over telephone from the ground, the woman mountaineer said, "It is a rare opportunity and honour for me. This will not only be a tribute to Phillip Hughes but my attempt to spread the message of humanity. I strongly believe that sports can bring people together. It helps us transcend geographical boundaries, political considerations, and issues of class, colour and creed."
Incidentally, Chhurim is a keen follower of the game and Hughes was her one of the favourite players. Before the commencement of the match today, the two teams (one side had four Australian players) observed a 63-second silence in the memory of Phillip Hughes and Richie Benaud.  Hughes was on 63 run when he was seriously injured by a bouncer and died two days later in November last year.  "This is my last match before I retire after playing for 17 years", Binod Das, the captain of one team, said exclusively over telephone before the game began on Saturday. "My message to Hughes family is to stay strong. He was certainly one of the most loved ones and we all will miss him".
Cricket Australia's chairman Wally Edwards attended the match. He will be leaving for Dubai for ICC meetings on Sunday. Rajeev Shukla, the IPL commissioner of the Indian cricket board had also sent a message for the match played in the beautiful Himalayan country.