Kolkata, July 8 (IANS) Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), calling the Prime Minister’s decision to promote cricket on the global stage ‘a huge thing’ for the sport.

Prime Minister Modi is set to travel to Australia for a three-day visit, during which he and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will participate in the India-Australia Annual Summit. As part of the visit, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to attend a programme at the iconic MCG to celebrate sports diplomacy and deepen bilateral ties between India and Australia.

Speaking to IANS, Ganguly said it was heartening to see the country’s highest elected leader taking time to support the game and strengthen sporting ties between India and Australia.

“The Prime Minister promoting the game is a huge thing for the game. So, it’s so nice to hear, and our sincere gratitude and thanks to the Honourable Prime Minister for taking time off to promote the sport,” Ganguly told IANS.

Indian High Commissioner to Australia Nagesh Singh earlier told IANS that while cricket remains a strong pillar of the relationship between the two countries, both governments are looking to broaden cooperation across the entire sporting ecosystem.

“A programme is scheduled there as well. We want to have sports cooperation beyond cricket. Australia is a cricketing superpower. Australia has a population of around 28 million, and it has excelled across a wide range of sports. Beyond sport itself, Australia is highly advanced in sports medicine, sports science, sports technology, sports management, and sports infrastructure. We want to build a partnership that expands cooperation beyond cricket and hockey to other sports as well,” Singh told IANS.

He added that the collaboration would extend beyond exchanges between teams to knowledge-sharing across sports science, infrastructure and management.

“Not just with regards to the exchange of teams, but the whole sporting ecosystem, we can learn all that from each other. We will learn from Australia and also teach some things. In this, traditional sports and non-traditional sports, like in that programme, Kabaddi was chosen by India to show. From the Australian side, Australian rules football, which they call footy, is being shown, and there will be a presence of cricket there, too. But they want to go beyond cricket; that is the ambition,” Singh said.

According to several media reports, Prime Minister Modi is also likely to confirm the historic staging of the opening match of the 2026-27 Big Bash League season in India during his Australia visit, marking the first time an Australian domestic cricket fixture will be played on Indian soil.

Reports have suggested that defending champions Perth Scorchers could face Melbourne Renegades in the tournament opener at Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on December 12, subject to final approvals. Discussions between Cricket Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) are understood to be at an advanced stage.

–IANS

sds/bsk/