NEW DELHI: Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed his deep passion for cricket and revealed a fascinating link to Indian cricket legend Rahul Dravid.

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Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2025, Sunak admitted that as a young player, he was so impressed by Dravid’s batting that he actively tried to replicate it.

“One of my favorite players growing up was Rahul Dravid. I tried copying his brilliant technique,” Sunak said.

While he supports England, Sunak confessed to having a "soft spot" for India. He humorously noted how he gets his "fix" of Indian cricket through the IPL, specifically mentioning his major passion for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise.

"I am obviously cheering for England but I have a soft spot for India, as you can imagine. That is why, I get my fix from RCB. That is my other passion as well as my home football team," Sunak said.

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Sunak also spoke about the contemporary English game, praising Joe Root as the best English batsman currently playing, noting the batsman's connection to his constituency in Yorkshire. He integrated his personal cricket context into his praise:

"My constituency in England is in Yorkshire which is probably the most cricket-mad part of the UK... But Joe Root is currently the best English batsman and he has scored the most runs and he is a Yorkshire cricketer," he added.

When asked to choose between two of the world's finest modern-day fast bowlers—India's Jasprit Bumrah and England's Jimmy Anderson—Sunak opted for the English veteran. Although he described Bumrah as "superb," he chose Anderson for reasons extending beyond pure statistics, highlighting the pacer’s commitment and character:

"Objectively, his career over the 20 years is genuinely inspiring. Not just his commitment and work ethic, his humility is quite extraordinary for a top-tier sportsman," he concluded.