The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25-bound Indian squad recently met Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra. PM Albanese was spotted having a conversation with India stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah and star batter Virat Kohli as India defeated Australia in the first Test match to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
While having the introductions, PM Albanese joked about Kohli’s dominance in Australia during recent years. Congratulating Kohli on his century in the Perth Test, Albanese quipped, “Good ton in Perth, as if we weren’t suffering enough at that point,” Kohli, known for his sharp wit, responded with a grin, saying, “Always gotta add some spice to it,” The exchange drew laughter and highlighted the friendly rivalry between India and Australia, as well as the cultural connection to India’s love for spice. The banter underscored the mutual respect shared between Kohli and the Australian PM.
Kohli smashed his 30th Test century in the Perth Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 after KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal's 201 runs stand to give a mammoth target of 534 runs. Australia who bundled out on just 104 in the first inning lost the match by 295 runs.
Rohit Sharma who missed the first Test match has joined the squad and he will lead the team in the second Test match which will be a day/night pink ball Test at Adelaide Oval from December 6. Rohit Sharma & Co. have arrived in Canberra for a pink-ball warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval.
Squads
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.
Australia Squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
