'Australia-Indian bilateral theme is seen in RCB's win': Former Australian PM Richard Marles

Richard Marles has also commenced a new mental health initiative alongside Kapil Dev targeting government schools in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Australian Deputy PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles opened his bilateral meeting with Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister of India (June 1) in New Delhi to boost military and defence cooperation and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final on Sunday (May 31) to secure back-to-back titles at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

At the 'Manabol Event', Marles connected Cricket to Diplomacy as follows:

"When I was here last year, it was the morning after the final of the Indian Premiere League, as it is, of course, this morning. Last night, as we saw a year ago, we saw RCB triumph. But I like the fact that Virat Kohli was 75 not out and was man of the match, but alongside him were Josh Hazlewood and Tim David. So, there was very much an Australia-Indian bilateral theme at play last night as RCB won the IPL. And that is emblematic, I think, of the relationship between our two countries," he said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

He also highlighted Virat Kohli's massive fan following as seen in Australia. "Virat Kohli is a huge name in Australia right now, but as I grew up, the very first Indian cricket captain I remember was Bishan Bedi; they were the great names of that era. Everyone in this room is easily the most well-known person in Australia today. We have shared passions for things like cricket, but we also have shared challenges in the way in which we are going about leading the modern world."

He further spoke on the Indian cricket icons: "It is quite a thrill for me to be...standing next to the great Kapil Dev... The relationship between Australia and India is at a high point... In so many ways, the shared passion that we have for life is embodied in our passion for cricket."

Marles has also commenced a new mental health initiative alongside Kapil Dev targeting government schools in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh (June 2).