EXCLUSIVE | Rishi Sunak rooting for RCB in IPL 2025 closing: ‘Cheered them from Downing Street’ | Cricket News

Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Pic credit score: Special association)

Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has brazenly declared his allegiance to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) forward of the IPL 2025 closing towards Punjab Kings, calling the crew his personal as a consequence of deep private ties. “I’m married into a Bangalore family, so RCB is my team,” Sunak tells TimesofIndia.com, recalling how he proposed to his spouse Akshata Murty in Kannada — a language he admitted he hadn’t fairly mastered on the time.The former British chief, in India to cheer on RCB who’re looking for their first IPL title, revealed that his in-laws gifted him an RCB jersey when he bought married, and that he is adopted the crew carefully ever since.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“We went to matches a long time ago and I used to cheer them on in Downing Street,” he shares, including that final 12 months’s marketing campaign was particularly thrilling to look at.

Sunak named Virat Kohli as his favorite participant, calling him a “total legend” and proudly mentioning a signed bat gifted to him by Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar throughout his tenure at Downing Street. “It’s one of my prized possessions,” he says.But Sunak is not solely relying on the Indian famous person. “I’m also hoping for a big contribution from RCB’s English contingent — Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone — let’s bring it home,” he provides, as Bengaluru look to safe their maiden IPL title on the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.Who’s that IPL participant?Beyond his private fandom, Sunak applauded the Indian Premier League‘s transformative impact on world cricket.“The IPL has transformed cricket. Every cricketer, everywhere, wants to play in the IPL at some point in their career now,” he says, noting its developmental impression on English gamers. “I was at Edgbaston last week watching England vs West Indies. Jacob Bethell played a brilliant innings. The IPL has improved him as a player.”

Rishi Sunak with India’s Suryakumar Yadav and England’s Jos Buttler. (Pic credit score: Special association)

Sunak additionally highlighted the IPL’s (WPL) contribution to ladies’s cricket and broader cultural affect. “It’s been great for the women’s game, getting more girls into the sport. But it’s also a sign of the influence that India now has in the 21st century. India’s passions, India’s tastes now have global impact.”He concluded with a nod to cricket’s return to the Olympics at Los Angeles in 2028. “Why is cricket back in the Olympics for the first time in 100 years? Because of India.”

Diplomacy meets cricketSunak additionally underscored cricket’s distinctive capability to function a diplomatic device regardless of the historic rivalry on the sphere utilizing his relationship with Australian PM Anthony Albanese and India’s PM Narendra Modi.“Prime Minister Albanese and I always had great cricket banter — especially during the Ashes, where at one point it got a tiny bit heated, but all in a friendly way,” he laughs. “And Prime Minister Modi and I always had great cricket chat before we got down to business.”“Cricket reminds you who your friends are and your shared passions. It puts everyone in the right frame of mind before you get down to the serious diplomatic stuff,” he provides, looking forward to India’s tour of England this summer time. “It’s going to be a great tour and I know it will strengthen the partnership and friendship between our two countries.”