Virat Kohli's immense popularity in Australia revealed by PM Albanese: 'Passionate doesn't even begin to describe it...'

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shared a heartwarming moment with Indian cricket star Virat Kohli during a reception he hosted for the Indian cricket team before their warm-up match against PM XI. Albanese revealed that his personal doctor is a huge fan of Kohli, and the two had a friendly chat that quickly went viral on social media. The meeting between the Aussie PM and the Indian batting maestro showcased the camaraderie between the two nations through the love of cricket.

The 61-year-old also met the Indian players ahead of the toss on Day 1, which was eventually washed out due to persistent rain. He shared that his personal doctor is a huge fan of Kohli and asked him to get an autograph from the Indian batting superstar.

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"My personal doctor is a huge fan of Virat Kohli - fan isn't quite a word to explain how passionate he is for Virat Kohli. When I told him, I am gonna meet Virat Kohli, he couldn't believe - he asked me to get an autograph of Kohli," Anthony Albanese said on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, Kohli didn't take part in India's warm-up match but he practiced in the nets alongside Jasprit Bumrah. Ravichandran Ashwin, who didn't play the Perth Test, also was seen at the nets, mostly bowling to Kohli.

In the rain-affected 46-overs-a-side affair, India won by chasing down an easy target of 241 in 42.5 overs, but they carried on batting till the end of the final over.

India expected to stick with KL Rahul as opener in 2nd Test

India persisted with the opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, whileskipper Rohit Sharma dropped himself to number four. However, Rohit, who missed the Perth Test, had a limited time of 11 deliveries in the warm-up match as he edged one to the slips under the night lights.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill spent quality time in the middle and scored a fifty, which put an end to doubts over his participation in the pink-ball Test. The talented batter missed the Perth clash due to a thumb injury. Harshit Rana, who already earned the team management's vote of confidence with an impressive Test debut at Perth, picked four wickets here to strengthen his credentials as a wicket-taking bowler.

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