BCCI officials present Indian PM with ICC World Cup 2011 souvenir
Officials from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and presented him with an autographed cricket bat bearing signatures of all the members of India's ICC World Cup 2011 winning squad.
The officials included, BCCI President Shashank Manohar, Secretary N Srinivasan and Vice President Rajiv Shukla. They presented a cricket bat autographed by the national cricket team to the PM in the meeting held in New Delhi.
According to sources, this is the BCCI’s first official meeting with the Indian PM after India’s glorious win in the coveted tournament. During the meeting with the PM, the BCCI officials expressed their desire to improve other sports of the country as well. They discussed different plans and strategies with the Manmohan Singh for building new sports arenas and stadiums for different sports in India. The officials also requested the PM to help the board with financial support and assistance.
The vice-president of the BCCI Rajiv Shukla stated, “It was a courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister and we gifted him with a bat signed by all the members of the World Cup winning team.”
Indian President Pratibha Patil witnessed the final of the ICC World Cup 2011 between India and Sri Lanka along with Sri Lanka President, Mahinda Rajapaksa. She then invited the victorious India team to a tea party the next day in Mumbai and took group photos with the successful Men in Blue.
The BCCI members also conveyed their heartiest gratitude to the PM for visiting Mohali to watch the Indo-Pak semi-final played on March 30, 2011.
They also expressed their appreciation for Dr. Manmohan for inviting the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gilani to India to watch the Indo-Pak semi-final with him. They said that this would be helpful in building friendly relations between the two countries.
Pak-India cricket ties, which were hampered after the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed 164 people, seem to be back on track after the two countries played each other in the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2011 in Mohali. Both the leaders vowed to resume cricketing ties between the countries and saw the sport as a means to normalise relations between the neighbours.
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