NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Prime Minister’s XI match against India on November 30, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosted a reception for the Indian cricket team at the Australian Parliament on Thursday.
The reception served as a diplomatic event highlighting the strong bilateral relations between India and Australia, with cricket as a shared passion.
Prime Minister Albanese interacted with the Indian players, acknowledging their recent victory in Perth and wishing them luck for the upcoming matches.
“Big challenge ahead for the PM’s XI at Manuka Oval this week against an amazing Indian side. But as I said to PM Narendra Modi, I’m backing the Aussies to get the job done,” wrote PM Albanese on X.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via a post on X, expressed his support for Team India, who clinched a 295-run victory in the opening Test at Perth.
“Glad to see my good friend Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the Indian and PM’s XI teams. Team India is off to a great start in the series and 1.4 billion Indians are strongly rooting for the Men in Blue. I look forward to exciting games ahead,” PM Modi penned.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma addressed the Parliament, emphasizing the historical significance of India-Australia cricket rivalry and the Indian team’s commitment to entertaining fans from both nations.
“India and Australia. We go back a long way, whether it’s sport, whether it is trade relations. Over the years, we have enjoyed coming to this part of the world, playing cricket, and enjoying a variety of the culture in the country. And obviously, Australia is one of the challenging… players to come and play cricket because of the passion people have, the competitiveness that every player possesses. Which is why for us, it’s always been a great challenge to come here and play cricket,” Rohit said in his speech.
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“We’ve had some success in the past and the previous week as we look to build on that momentum, we also do want to enjoy a culture that Australia has. The variety of the cities gives us a different feeling. We do love coming here and enjoy our trip, and hopefully in the next few weeks, you know, we can entertain the Australian public and as well as the Indian fans who are here to play a massive role in achieving what we want to achieve. It’s never easy,” he added.
“We look forward to playing some cricket and at the same time, enjoying the country as well. It’s a wonderful place, as we all know. Look forward to a very good month coming up. We are all excited and hopefully we can entertain. Thank you sir, for having us here. It’s a pleasure,” Rohit concluded.
