Tour of Australia: Rohit Sharma & Co wins a fan in Prime Minister Albanese

The whopping 295-run win in the first Test in Perth has helped the Indian cricket team win many a new fan Down Under, including the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The latter caught up with the Rohit Sharma-led squad and members of the PM’s XI at the Parliament in Canberra on Thursday, a customary practice ahead of their two-warm up games before the second Test.

Sharma, who joined the squad in Perth after missing the first Test for the birth of his second child, hoped his team could continue to ‘’entertain the Australian public as well as Indian fans’’ in a speech in Parliament.

During a formal introduction with the players, Albanese complimented Jasprit Bumrah on his effort and told him that his style was really distinct from anyone else’s. He also had a separate word with Virat Kohli when he said: ‘’Good time in Perth, as if we weren’t suffering enough at that point.’’

During his speech, the Indian captain said: ‘’As we look to build on that momentum, we also do want to enjoy the culture that Australia has, the variety of the cities, which gives us a different feeling. And yeah, we do love coming here and enjoy it. And hopefully, in the next few weeks, we can entertain the Australian public as well as the Indian fans who are here and play a massive role in achieving that we achieve, because without their support, it's never easy.

‘’So yes, we look forward to playing some good cricket at the same time, enjoying the country as well. It’s been a wonderful place, as we all know. Yeah, look forward to a very good month coming up. We are all excited and hopefully, we can entertain a lot of people,’’ he concluded.

The Indian team will engage in a two-day tour game against the Prime Minister’s XI of Australia, which should serve as a warm-up for the Border Gavaskar Trophy day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval from 6 December.

Meanwhile, Australia have added allrounder Beau Webster, of Tasmania, for the upcoming Test against India as cover for Mitch Marsh.

Reward for 'A' team show

Webster was added to the squad following his recent good showing in red-ball cricket including the two-game series against India A. In the unofficial Test series against India A, Webster was the second-highest run-getter for Australia A with 145 runs at an average of 72.50. He also picked up seven wickets at an average under 20.

The 30-year-old Webster has over 5,000 first class runs and close to 150 first-class wickets in his career.

Australia squad for second Test: 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.