S Jaishankar gifts Virat Kohli signed bat to Australian leader

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gifted a cricket bat to Marise Payne, his Australian counterpart, on Friday. Inscribed with the signature of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, the bat was gifted by Jaishankar during his visit to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia. 

The External Affairs Minister had been in Melbourne to attend an important meeting with Quad foreign ministers, hosted by Australian politician, Marise Payne. He then visited the renowned stadium with Payne, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

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Sharing a few pictures from the stadium on Twitter, Jaishankar wrote, “A fitting end to a busy day. Quad FMs visit the @MCG. Presented @MarisePayne with a bat signed by @imVkohli.”

Uploaded a day ago, the tweet has garnered over 11,600 likes and more than 1,300 retweets. One Twitter user wrote, “Coolest Foreign Minister ever.” 

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Another user added, “Terrific and fitting as you rightly said. A visit by an Indian Minister to Australia and vice versa is incomplete without cricket-related discussions.”

Cricket icon Virat Kohli made headlines after the recent end of his captaincy tenure. The 33-year-old is one of the most celebrated cricketers in the country. 

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The Melbourne Cricket Ground is Australia’s biggest sporting infrastructure, with a seating capacity of over 1,00,000. It was established in 1853, merely 20 years after the city of Melbourne was founded. Locally known as the ‘G’, the stadium has been the home to Test cricket, one-day international cricket, and Australian football. 

The cricket stadium is a brief 10-minute walk from Melbourne and is located in Yarra Park. 

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne also shared pictures with Jaishankar on Twitter. 

She wrote, “Cyber security, innovation, digital economy, and cyber tech cooperation is a key part of Australia’s relationship with India. I joined @DrSJaishankar for the inaugural India-Australia FMs Cyber Dialogue to further enhance our cyber & critical tech engagement.”