Indian cricket team meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, ahead of the start of the fifth Test match between India and Australia, in Sydney on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: X/@AlboMP

Such has been the impact of Jasprit Bumrah in the Border-Gavaskar trophy that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese jokingly suggested a law that forces India’s pace spearhead to bowl “left-handed or off one step” against the home team.

The right-handed Bumrah considered the world’s best fast bowler across formats, has caused plenty of trouble for the Australian batters and has taken 30 wickets in four Tests.

Albanese, who hosted the Indian and Australian players on Wednesday (January 1, 2025) ahead of the decisive fifth Test, spoke glowingly of Bumrah.

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“We could pass a law here that says he has to bowl left-handed or off one step. Every time he has come onto bowl has been very exciting,” Albanese said in a lighter vein, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

“The Australian and Indian teams have already given us an incredible summer of cricket,” Albanese later wrote on social media.

“When the fifth test starts on Friday, the SCG will be a sea of pink in support of the great work of the McGrath Foundation. Go Australia!,” he added.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke on behalf of the Indian team.

“Australia is a beautiful country to travel but a tough place to tour. Crowds have been absolutely amazing. We’ve got another Test match to go. Hopefully we can entertain the crowd,” he said.

Australian captain Pat Cummins played a big part in ensuring a 2-1 series lead for his team going into Sydney.

Reflecting on the last week, he said: “The last week in Melbourne is right up there is one of the best Test matches we’ve been involved with,” Cummins said. “Over the five days, I’ve never seen anything like it.

“Looking forward to this week. It’s a decider. It’s our chance to win the series. Can’t wait.” The outcome of the Sydney Test will determine if the hosts regain the trophy after more than a decade.

In Melbourne, Bumrah became the fastest Indian pacer to 200 wickets, achieving the feat in his 44th game.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
| Photo Credit: AP

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hit back at Elon Musk on Saturday (September 14, 2024) after the tech mogul called his government “fascists” for proposing laws that would fine social media giants for spreading misinformation.

Australia introduced a “combating misinformation” bill earlier this week, which includes sweeping powers to fine tech giants up to five percent of their annual turnover for breaching online safety obligations.

“Fascists,” Mr. Musk posted on Thursday (September 12, 2024) on his social media platform ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter.

But Albanese fired back at Mr. Musk on Saturday (September 14, 2024), saying social media “has a social responsibility”.

“If Mr Musk doesn’t understand that, that says more about him than it does about my government,” he told reporters.

The exchange between Mr. Musk and Australian officials is the latest in a long-running spat with the Australian government over social media regulation.

Australia’s government is exploring a raft of new measures that would see social media companies take greater accountability for the content on their platforms — including a ban for those under 16 years old.

The country’s online watchdog took Mr. Musk’s company to court earlier this year, alleging it had failed to remove “extremely violent” videos that showed a Sydney preacher being stabbed.

But it abruptly dropped its attempt to force a global takedown order on X after Mr. Musk scored a legal victory in a preliminary hearing, a move he celebrated as a free speech triumph.

Mr. Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist”, has clashed with politicians and digital rights groups worldwide, including in the European Union, which could decide within months to take action against X with possible fines.

In Brazil, where X has effectively been suspended after it ignored a series of court directives, Mr. Musk has responded by blasting the judge as an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge”.