With reporting by Khushaal Vyas.

Despite shoulder clashes, fines and fiery social media commentary in recent days, there was no sign of any off-field rivalry between the Indian and Australian Test cricket teams on Wednesday, January 1. 

Attending a New Year’s Day reception hosted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Kirribilli House, captains Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma posed for photos with the PM against the backdrop of a dazzling Sydney Harbour, as their fellow teammates mingled with a guest list of around 100 people including dignitaries, community members, and cricketers’ families. 

The PM himself shared he’s a huge fan of Virat Kohli, arguably one of India’s finest ever batters. When asked by the Unboxed podcast – which is produced by this masthead Draw Your Box – about who his favourite Australian and Indian cricketers are, he firstly couldn’t pick between two local legends, Steven Smith and Pat Cummins. 

“I love Steven Smith, I love the way that he plays. He’s quirky, he’s a lovely fellow,” he told Unboxed podcast hosts Alicia Vrajlal and Khushaal Vyas. “I got to meet him when he was captaining the team as well at Ahmedabad. I went to the Test during the last series with Prime Minister Modi.

“Pat Cummins as well, what a captain!” he added. “He’s so good.”

As for his favourite player from India, the PM easily responded: “I love Virat Kohli. I think he’s awesome the way that he’s played at the highest level for such a long period of time.” 

When the fifth test starts on Friday, the SCG will be a sea of pink in support of the great work of the McGrath Foundation. Go Australia! pic.twitter.com/SxE8NsQgos

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 1, 2025

As both teams prepare for the upcoming New Year’s Test in Sydney, Albanese reflected on his favourite part of the Test series which has seen the cricketers play in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne over the past few weeks.

“The enthusiasm that’s there, whether that be a young bloke like Sam Konstas or someone like Virat Kohli,” says Albanese. “The way that it was so enthusiastic every time a wicket fell was just great.”

The fourth Test in Melbourne alone has sparked many headlines in recent days, particularly when Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee after “barging” into Australia opener Sam Konstas. 

But it seems all is well away from the pitch, with Konstas’ siblings posing for photos with Kohli at the PM’s reception, and the Prime Minister himself applauding the bond between the two teams.

“The way that they’ve conducted themselves on and off the field – they’re two great teams,” Albanese told Unboxed and Draw Your Box, adding, “but they have embodied the true meaning of sport and they clearly like each other. We’ve seen that here at the reception at the Prime Minister’s Residence.” 

The PM went on to say that bringing the teams together for his annual New Year’s Day event holds greater significance than people may realise, particularly given how important the Australia-India relationship is. 

“It’s a celebration of sport that’s also a celebration of how strong our relationship has become,” he told us. “It’s an economic relationship, it’s one based on values that we share. 

“India, of course, is the world’s largest democracy. It’s an exciting country that has grown enormously in recent years and will be the third largest economy in the world. We want more economic relations between our two countries.” 

As for Aussie and Indian cricket fans in Sydney, the excitement is building ahead of the New Year’s Test (also touted as the Pink Test in support of the McGrath Foundation), which kicks off at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday, January 3.