Indian External Affairs Minister gifts Virat Kohli signed bat to Australia's Deputy Prime Minister
Canberra (PTI): External Affairs Minister on Monday met Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and said that the growing defence and security cooperation between both countries ensures a peaceful, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
"Pleased to meet DPM and Defence Minister of Australia @RichardMarlesMP. Exchanged views on regional and global security," Jaishanakar said, amidst the Chinese military's aggressive moves in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
"Our growing defence and security cooperation ensures a peaceful, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific," Jaishankar tweeted along with a picture in which he is seen gifting a bat signed by former Indian captain Virat Kohli to the Australian Defence Minister.
The US, India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the region. The US, India, Australia and Japan are also part of the Quad grouping.
China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea.
Jaishankar, who arrived in Canberra on Monday, also met Australia's Education Minister Jason Clare and discussed the importance of quality education.
"Glad to meet Australia's Education Minister @JasonClareMP today afternoon in Canberra. Discussed the importance of quality education, need for an international outlook and preparation for the global workplace," he tweeted.
"A pleasure to catch up this afternoon with India's Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar and discuss the work we are doing together on international education," Clare tweeted.
Over 2.60 lakh students have arrived in Australia to take up higher education soon after the country opened its borders following the impact caused by Covid19 enforced lockdown, an official said on Saturday. Australia has unveiled the Study Australia Industry Experience programme for Indian students aimed at enhancing employability skills, Australian Trade and Investment Commissioner-South Asia Abdul Ekram said in September.
Earlier, in a joint press conference with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Jaishankar said that India wants Australia to partner in education.
"One of them is a proposal that's been under discussion for an understanding of mobility, on the mobility of talent and skills, how we can grow education and what we could do particularly bearing in mind, India's New National Education Policy (NEP). We certainly would like to see Australia, which is one of our major partners in education, also having a stronger presence in India, and that's something which our Prime Ministers had discussed as well when they had met in Tokyo."
This is Jaishankar's second visit to Australia this year.
The first visit was in February 2022 when he attended Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Melbourne.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
