The Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, met Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra today ahead of the pink ball warm-up that is scheduled to get underway on November 30. Apart from the Indian team, the players picked in Prime Minister's XI also met the PM at the parliament.
Albanese had a fun interaction with the Indian team members as the captain Rohit introduced the entire squad to him. Interestingly, in a cheeky manner, he also said to Virat Kohli, "Good time in Perth, as if we weren't suffering enough at that point." To this, the former India skipper also replied saying, "Always gotta add some spice to it."
On his official social media handle, Albanese also shared the pictures of the meeting with the Indian team while also revealed the message to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "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," his tweet read.
Rohit Sharma also rejoiced the relationship between India and Australia in his speech addressing the parliament. He also stated that the team is keen on playing some good cricket in the country over the next month or so. "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, uh, players to come and play cricket because of the passion people have, the competitiveness that every player possesses. Which is why you know for us, it's always been a great challenge to come here and play cricket. 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. We look forward to playing some cricket and at the same time, enjoy 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," he said in his speech.
Narendra Modi responds to India's visit to Australian PM
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also responded to India's special visit to the Australian PM. Modi expressed his feelings about team India visiting his 'good friend Anthony Albanese' and wished them best for the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"Glad to see my good friend Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with the Indian and PM’s XI teams," PM Modi wrote. "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."
The Indian team is gearing up for the pink ball Test match in Adelaide that is set to start on December 6. Ahead of the clash, a two-day warm-up game against PM's XI will serve as a perfect preparation for the day-night Test. The team landed in Canberra early in the morning on Thursday (November 28) and soon left to meet the Australian PM in the parliament.
