Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised on Thursday the significant contribution of Indian Americans to the overall prosperity of the nation in which they live and the strengthening of India-US ties.
Modi was speaking at the State Dinner thrown in his honour by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on the White House’s North Lawn.
More than 400 guests were invited, including IT titans and billionaire businessmen such as Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Google CEO Sunder Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Modi raised a glass to his “wonderful” hosts during his State Dinner speech. He raised it in honour of good health, prosperity, and the pursuit of pleasure, as well as liberty, equality, and fraternity, and the everlasting connections of goodwill between India and the United States.
Modi also discussed cricket and how it is gaining popularity in the United States, as the American team competes in the ICC World Cup qualifiers.
“Americans love baseball, but cricket is gaining popularity in the United States,” Modi added.
“The American team is doing everything possible to qualify for the Cricket World Cup, which will be held in India later this year.” “I wish them luck and success,” the prime minister said.
The US squad competing in the ODI World Cup qualifiers includes a few of players of Indian and Pakistani descent.
While Sushant Modani, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Abhishek Paradkar, Jasdeep Singh, Monank Patel, Saurabh Netravalkar, and Nisarg Patel all have Indian ancestors, Shayan Jahangir, Usman Rafiq, and Ali Khan are Pakistani.
The IPL’s popularity, which has increased exponentially since its start in 2018, has played a significant role in promoting the sport, particularly the T20 format, in nations where cricket is not as popular.
Players in the United States, primarily of Asian heritage, have benefited from this as the sport has grown in popularity in the country of origin.
