Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese were greeted with thunderous applause during the lap of honor (Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi)
While the BJP termed the meeting as cricket diplomacy, the Congress took advantage of the opportunity to target the Prime Minister.
Fierce rivals on the pitch, India and Australia took time out to meet and greet their respective prime ministers ahead of the fourth Test between the two countries in Ahmedabad. While the BJP termed the meeting as cricket diplomacy, the Congress took advantage of the opportunity to target the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese were greeted with thunderous applause at the Narendra Modi Stadium as they walked hand-in-hand for a lap of honor ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match.
BJP’s Amit Malviya shared a picture from the event and said, “Cricket diplomacy. Does it work.”
The BCCI also shared videos of both the prime ministers and said, “A special welcome and a special handshake!”
Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh immediately targeted the PM. Sharing a news article about the incident, the senior Congress leader said, “The lap of honor at a stadium that you named after yourself during your lifetime – the height of self-obsession.”
Sources said that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had arranged a large number of passes for the match and distributed them among the people. Many of them left after spending some time in the stadium.
Modi and Albanese toured the stadium and waved to thousands of supporters who had gathered to watch the series decider in Gujarat.
Sharing the dais, the two Prime Ministers also presented Test caps to their respective team captains Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith. Modi and Albanese also met the players from both the sides and stood with them when the national anthems of India and Australia were sung.
The two Prime Ministers earlier visited the Hall of Fame Museum at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
After the start of the match, the two Prime Ministers shared a light moment and took selfies in the stands. He was also seen sipping tea in the stands while watching parts of the match.
The Australian PM tweeted a selfie saying, “Celebrating 75 years of friendship through cricket with Indian PM @narendramodi.”
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