External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presented Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles with a cricket bat signed by Indian batsman and former captain Virat Kohli during his visit to Australia on Monday. Mr Marles, who is also Australia's Defense Minister, shared a photo of himself thanking India's External Affairs Minister for the priceless gift.
"A pleasure to host @DrSJaishankar here in Canberra. There are many things which bind us, including our love of cricket. Today, he surprised me with a signed bat from cricket legend @imVkohli," Marles wrote on Twitter, where he also shared a picture of Jaishankar gifting him the MRF-branded cricket bat signed by the former India captain.
.
Meanwhile, India's Foreign Minister Jaishankar took to Twitter to post a handful of photos from his meeting with Marles.
"Pleased to meet DPM and Defence Minister of Australia @RichardMarlesMP. Exchanged views on regional and global security. Our growing defence and security cooperation ensures a peaceful, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific," Jaishankar wrote in the caption of his post on Twitter.
Earlier this year, Jaishankar presented a cricket bat signed by Kohli to his then-Australian counterpart Marise Payne during a visit to the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). In the presence of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, Jaishankar, who had travelled to Australia to attend an important meeting of the Quad foreign ministers in February, presented the bat to Payne.
Talking about former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, he recently smashed his long-awaited 71st international century during a match against Afghanistan in T20 Asia Cup 2022 in United Arab of Emirates.
The dynamic batter also became India’s second highest run-getter across all formats overcoming Indian head coach Rahul Dravid. The 33-year-old will be seen in action during upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia as India begin their campaign on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
READ| Former India legend MS Dhoni inaugurates Super Kings Academy in Hosur
