India and Australia Launch Sports Collaboration Roadmap, Boost Ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that the opening match of Big Bash Cricket League will be played in India's Chennai, as New Delhi launched a Sports Collaboration Roadmap with Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

He affirmed that the two nations would strengthen partnership both, on-field and off field. "Let us play together, let us win together," PM Modi said, as he addressed the media alongside Australian Prime Minister ​Anthony Albanese.

The match in Chennai will make the domestic Australian T20 competition the first ‌foreign cricket league to be played in ​India, and ​will ⁠be the centrepiece of a week-long Australian cultural festival held ​across India in December.

In India, we have not only democratised tech, but also sports, the prime minister noted, adding that the country is going to host Commonwealth Games 2030, and is also making efforts to host Olympic Games 2036.

The Big Bash League is a professional Twenty20 cricket league played in Australia. Established in 2011 by Cricket Australia, the tournament features eight city-based franchises and is held annually between December and February.

The announcement of the key sports collaboration between India and Australia comes hours after the two nations sealed a raft of significant pacts spanning civil nuclear energy, maritime security and critical minerals sectors and ramped up defence ties.

The agreement in nuclear energy facilitates the commercial supply of uranium from Australia to India to fuel New Delhi's nuclear power projects. Sealed after nearly two years of negotiations, the pact followed nearly 12 years after the two countries inked a historic civil nuclear cooperation pact.

The two nations also agreed to firm up the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement as well as a bilateral investment protection framework to enhance trade and investment.

Under key defence developments, India and Australia adopted the India-Australia Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation (JDDSC) and the India-Australia Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap (MSCR), among 18 major outcomes announced following the Third India-Australia Annual Summit.

The summit concluded with major developments across defence, maritime security, energy, cyber and critical technologies, education, mining, research and cultural cooperation, marking a major expansion of the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.