Among the many things that bond India and the United Kingdom (UK) on a geopolitical level, probably the biggest is cricket. The Indian and England Cricket teams are among the strongest in the world across the world with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and England Cricket Board (ECB) are among the most powerful in the world.

With cricket a big soft power for both nations, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron opened up about his love for cricket and Indian players. Cameron opened up on his admiration for Bishan Singh Bedi while recalling watching Rahul Dravid score a century.

However, it was star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli for whom the former PM reserved the highest praise for. Cameron labelled the ex-Indian captain as an 'extraordinary leader' and compared him to England test skipper Ben Stokes.

"I am so old that I grew up watching Bishan Bedi. I remember watching Rahul Dravid score a brilliant century in the UK. I remember sitting with John Major who is another Conservative Prime Minister who said - Watch this guy, he is very very good.

"I think in Virat Kohli, you had an extraordinary leader. Sometimes, you can see, as we have done with Ben Stokes as our captain, just incredible captaincy on the field and inspiration. I think you had that with Virat Kohli. So lots of great cricket players to watch. Obviously, some great British-Indian players coming through. In the years to come, you will see many British-Indian players coming through and taking on India and hopefully winning," said Cameron at the NDTV World Summit.

Kohli was India's captain in Test cricket for a seven-year period from 2015 to 2022 and is India's most successful red-ball skipper in history having led the national team to 40 victories in 68 games. Kohli also captained the Indian ODI and T20I team from 2017 to 2021. Rohit Sharma replaced Kohli as India's all-format captain in 2022.

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