Rohit Sharma addresses Australian parliament ahead of Adelaide Test: ‘Australia are challenging because…’

Indian captain Rohit Sharma addressed the Australian Parliament and met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday. Notably, the skipper missed the first Test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Perth due to family reasons. He will now lead the team for the second BGT Test match in Adelaide from December 6.

Rohit, while acknowledging the on-field rivalry between India and Australia, also noted the long-standing relationship between the two in sports and business. He also showed a fondness for Australian cities, noting that the Indian team "loves" touring the country.

Speaking in the Australian parliament, Rohit said, “India and Australia have a long relationship in sports and trade. We enjoyed playing cricket over here. Australia are a challenging team because of the passion of the fans and the competitive nature of the players. It is nice to be up against one of the best teams in the world.”

The Indian captain continued, “We have achieved success in Australia and recently won a Test match. We want to take the momentum forward. We also want to enjoy the culture. I hope we entertain the Australian and Indian fans in the remaining matches. We look forward to playing good cricket and, at the same time, enjoy the country. It is a wonderful place, and hopefully, we will play good cricket in the next few weeks. It is a pleasure to be here, and thank you, sir, for inviting us.”

Rohit Sharma to play first warm-up game in Australia

Team India arrived in Canberra from Perth on November 28, and Rohit Sharma's men will now play a two-day pink-ball Test match against the Prime Minister's XI. The warm-up match should be an ideal opportunity for the Indian captain to get accustomed to the Australian conditions ahead of the first Pink Ball Test between India and Australia on December 6.

In a rare feat for a visiting team, Jasprit Bumrah led India to a 295-run win over the Kangaroos in the first match in Perth. However, with Rohit Sharma back in the side and Shubman Gill likely to be fit for the second match, there are likely to be some changes to the Indian team in Adelaide.