withtheIndiancricketteam

Thetouringteam enthrals thelocalIndiancommunityat officialsocial engagements, writesPAWANLUTHRA

If Bollywood sweetheart

AnushkaSharma had any plans to keepa low profile in Australia as she joined her special friend Indian cricket captainVirat Kohlion tour here,shecertainlydidnot do a good job at arecent Sydney Harbo1tr cruise.

At aneventorganisedbythe High Commission of Indiain Australia, the rouringIndian cricket team mingled with guests from Australian policies, cricketing greats, ci:icket tragics and afew membersof the local Indiancommunity.

As the Indian teamwalked down KingStreetWharf in their darkblueT-shirts and black pants, the hottestactress on theBollywood circuit,enjoying the phenomenal success of her current movie PK, stood out in abeautifully tailored white knee-length dress and high heels.Towering above d1e other parmers and wives of the cricketing tean1, one feels that if the role for afernale secret service agent is on offer, Anushka would bagit hands down.

Butonceon boardthecruise ship,Anushkacharmed everyone with her readysmile and grace. Perhaps part of drnt rubbed off on the Indian captainVi.rat Kohli who willingly posed for photographs with the guests as hechatteredabouthis time in Australia.

"Iquite enjoy mybanter with ilie Australian team,"he coldme with a twinkle in his eye.

"I do not want to take a step backwards on this rour and want co giveit mybest," he said,as he moved backwards to allow girlfriend Anusbkato be photographed byacoupleof adoring fans.

Onlyafew days earlier, on NewYear'sDay,theIndian and Australian cricket teams were hosted by Prime Jvlioister 'TonyAbbott and wife Margie at Kirribilli Houseona bright and sunnyafternoon.

Kohli has justbeen named as the Indian captain,afterMS Dhoni's surprise resignation, andit was clear that hewas relishing d1erole.Speakingon the occasion,he expressed his happinessin his new position and then, putting on his diplomatic hat, hadwords of praise for Australiaandits people, adding that his teamloves touring down under and exploriJ1g the country.

"\�e loveiliecompetitive nature of the people-ingeneral,"he concluded, perhapsensuring that archrival M.itchellJohnson didnot givehimaNewYear'shug.

WhenI mentionedthis to ]'vlitcbellJohnsonlater,he smiled cheekilrandsaid,"Oh,butI sent hima Christmas card seems like it got lost on the way."

Perhaps to create abetter understanding between the two teams,Prime:Minister Abbott had a few words with die. two captains, Steve Smith and ViratKohli, amoment capturedfamously bythe photographers.As to what was discussed is anyone's guess:suggestionsforyogaand meditation sessionsforboth teams, perhaps, to helpcreatea more harmoniousatmosphereout in themiddle?

Till chatadvice is followed,it seemedthattl1eIndian cricket team spentmore time on d1eeast side, while the Australiancricket team was happyon the west side of Kitribilli lawns.

The only person who sauntered across for abanter was Indian opener ShikharDbawan who playedthedoting dadwithbis one-year-oldsonZoravarin his arms.ThenameZoravar means 'brave' and 'powerful' andas such, perhaps the tot gave dad Shikhar some moral suppord BothIndian cricketambassadors werereceivedwarmlybythe Australianside.Therewereafew cricketers atthe PM'shousewho werestrangely silent,or itmay notbe that strangein hindsight, as they mayhavebeenfeelingthe effects of a late uight at theIvy night clubonNewYear'seveata BoUywooddanceparty organised bySydney partykingRa Khanna. The bachelors of theteamsuch as Isham Sharma,Ravichandran Ashwin,Bhuvenshwar Kumar were seen shaking alegand enjoyingtheirchampagneas rheywelcomed2015on their day off on tour. CaptainKohJj and Anushkadiddropinbut decided tohead off to Cafe Sydney for a more intimate dinner.

Back on board theSydney Showboat cruiseship,team directorRaviShastrichatted aruiablywithHornsbyMP and a greatfriend of India,Matt Kean andhisftanceeGabrieUe and turned outtobequite the storyteller.

"One of myfavourite memoriesinAustraliawasthe Man of the Seriesaward in 1985,"Shastrirevealed."I took home theAudi, bur didnot even bave a driver's licence when they handedme thekey! Still, I decided to driveit aroundthe MCG. BeforeI knewit, Kapil Dev and Sunny Gavaskar bad jumped onto the bonnet and in someway, theentire team was able to fit or cling on to rhe car, as an unlicenseddriver drove around the MCG (kids, do 11ot do this at borne)! In fact, it was a bir of hassle to take the car back horne.Therewas aduty of 320 per cent on imported vehicles to lndia and Rajiv Gandhi, then a minister in theIndian Government,wasable to waive it through a specialamendment to the constitution.Io fact,when the car arrived inIndia, 10,000 people gatheredinthe docks ro seeit unloaded.Audigotsuch greatpublicitythatsince1985, I havebeen the brand ambassador for AudiinIndia."

Meanwhile,dinnerwasbeing served andatrhemaintablewere India's veryown Poshand Becks, Anushka andVirar.The organisers had cleverly scatteredthewhole teamacross thetables,so that therewasa chance for d1e guests to interactwith thecricketers and tl,eir families.ButaUeyeswereon YouKnowWho.

WhileViratcharredwiththe guests around him, turning his considerablecharms on Bollywood srarAoushkawas the Chair of the Commuuity Relations Commission and former beadof CricketNSW,Dr HariHarinath.

WithwifeGayathri keepinga close eye on the proceedings,Dr Harinathwashappy to dohis bit for comrnuuityrelationsbetween NSW;BoUywood andcricket.One suspectsthattherewereothers on board whowouldhave foughthim for hisplace.

The cruisewas a fantasticway for the Indian cricket team to relax andenjoy Sydney Harbour. Good weather, foodandwine a.long wid1aroamingmagicianwho kepteveryoneentertained,made itaveryspecialevening. Having theAustralian cricket team on board asweU,would haveresulted eid1er in someonebeingthrown overboard,orlots of ChristrnasDiwalicardsexchangednextyear. After all,on aboat, youcan run, but youcannothide!