India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday drew inspiration from the noble game of cricket to describe the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Using a cricketing analogy to elaborate his point, Jaishankar went on to call the Indian Prime Minister "Captain Modi" before comparing New Delhi's foreign policy approach with a "cricket match".
"With Captain [PM] Modi, net practice starts at 6am and goes on until fairly late... Captain Modi does give his bowlers a certain amount of freedom. He expects you to take that wicket if he gives you the chance to do it," Jaishankar said during the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.
The Raisina Dialogue is India's foremost geopolitics and foreign policy conference.
Jaishankar then said that interest in India and its foreign policy was growing all over the world.
Jaishankar then said that interest in India and its foreign policy was growing all over the world.
"It is because the world is in a difficult place, more people are getting interested in world affairs. The second reason is the globalization of India. Like a cricket team, we don't want to win matches only at home but abroad as well," he added.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar had a meeting with his American, Australian, and Japanese counterparts as part of the Quad grouping, wherein he highlighted the three biggest challenges facing the security grouping of the four countries.
"Three big issues that Quad and the world need to address - and I think Quad can address and can make a difference: first, more reliable and resilient supply chain, second, digital challenge of trust and transparency and third connectivity. I expect these to be a greater part of our agenda," Jaishankar said.
During his interaction with Quad leaders - Antony Blinken of the United States, Australia's Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi - Jaishankar also discussed the stalled United Nations reforms.
A joint statement issued by Quad said that the expansion of the UN Security Council which at present has five permanent and 10 non-permanent members, was necessary to strengthen the international system.