Virat Kohli, Shastri, Ganguly React To ‘Kind Words’ And ‘Encouragement’ By PM Modi On Mann Ki Baat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Indian team on winning a historic Test series in Australia. He said it was commendable how India ‘bounced back’ after ‘early hiccups’.

PM Modi congratulates Team India. (Images: Getty Images)

India’s series win against Australia has impressed the Prime Minister of the country too. PM Modi, in his Mann Ki Baat on Sunday 31 January, congratulated the Indian team on winning the series down under. He gave credit to India’s ‘teamwork’ and ‘hard work’. He also lauded India’s efforts of bouncing back after having a shaky start to the series. Team India’s coach, Ravi Shastri reacted to this and thanked the PM for his ‘kind words’. Even captain Virat Kohli re-tweeted PM’s tweet with a tricolor flag.

Replying to PMO’s Tweet, Ravi Shastri wrote: “Thank you, Sir. Your kind words will further strengthen #TeamIndia and India's resolve to perform under pressure and in trying circumstances. Jai Hind!"

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you, Sir. Your kind words will further strengthen <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#TeamIndia</a> and 🇮🇳’s resolve to perform under pressure and in trying circumstances. Jai Hind ! <a href="https://t.co/yQQN9nh8Ab" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/yQQN9nh8Ab</a></p>&mdash; Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) <a href="https://twitter.com/RaviShastriOfc/status/1355794342510690306?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">🇮🇳 <a href="https://t.co/jGez2Na675" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/jGez2Na675</a></p>&mdash; Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) <a href="https://twitter.com/imVkohli/status/1355791729526378500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Not just Shastri and Kohli, but BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also replied to the Tweet by PM. He expressed gratitude towards PM for recognizing Team India’s remarkable performance.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sincere thanks and gratitude to Honourable Prime minister for recognising the performance of the Indian cricket team in australia..</p>&mdash; Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) <a href="https://twitter.com/SGanguly99/status/1355811686695882754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Other players like Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane, Washington Sundar and Cheteshwar Pujara also thanked the PM and tweeted in response. Here’s a look at the Tweets:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you so much 🙏🏻 to Honourable Prime minister for appreciating the performance of the Indian cricket team in australia. Keep supporting us and we are proud to be a part of Indian Cricket Team🇮🇳🇮🇳 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#TeamIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MannKiBaat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>#MannKiBaat</a> <a href="https://t.co/bkKQ1X12SS" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/bkKQ1X12SS</a></p>&mdash; Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MdShami11/status/1355819525376073730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you for your words of encouragement Shri <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>@narendramodi</a> Ji 🙏 It’s always an honour to represent our country, we hope to continue inspiring more Indians as we move forward 🇮🇳 <a href="https://t.co/8vxfrU3N4v" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/8vxfrU3N4v</a></p>&mdash; Ajinkya Rahane (@ajinkyarahane88) <a href="https://twitter.com/ajinkyarahane88/status/1355807239194300421?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you Shri Narendra Modi Ji for your recognition and kind words 🙏<br>We will continue striviving to do our best to make the nation proud 🇮🇳</p>&mdash; cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) <a href="https://twitter.com/cheteshwar1/status/1355834518637223938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you for your kind words sir. 🇮🇳 <a href="https://t.co/m6whAG0GAc" rel='nofollow'>https://t.co/m6whAG0GAc</a></p>&mdash; Washington Sundar (@Sundarwashi5) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sundarwashi5/status/1355806522824028160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

India won a nail-bitter in Brisbane and sealed the series in Australia. Rishabh Pant was the hero for India with the bat in the last match. India had a bad start to the Test series after losing the first Test, courtesy the lowest ever Test score of 36 runs for India. India also lost Viart Kohli ater the first Test due to his personal reasons. Then, Rahane took over as the captain of the Indian cricket team.

The final Test was played by India when there were several injuries in the team. Players like Jadeja, Ashwin and Bumrah were unavailable for the final Test.

Even after all these problems, India went on to win the Test series which made it worthy of a mention during PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat address to the nation.