German Chancellor visits cricket stadium in Bengaluru, spends time with RCB players

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday visited the M Chinnaswamy cricket stadium here and interacted with men and women players of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team.

Scholz spoke to the officials of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), RCB men and women team members for about 15 minutes.

The Chancellor understands that cricket is India’s number one passion when it comes to sports, a German Embassy official said.

“In Germany, cricket is not as popular. Although more than 200,000 Indians in Germany are popularising the sport there,” he said.

So, Scholz wanted to acclimatise himself about the sport and what cricket means to India, the official added.

“Moreover, he wanted to understand what the RCB, both the men’s and women’s team, mean to the city, especially as the RCB women’s team embark on the first season of the Women’s Premier League,” the official further said.

Earlier, the German Chancellor arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport in the afternoon. Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar, along with the German Consulate officials and Bengaluru Police Commissioner C H Pratap Reddy received him.

Later, Sudhakar tweeted: “Welcomed the Chancellor of Germany, His Excellency @OlafScholz to Bangalore at Kempegowda International Airport today. This is the first visit from a Chancellor of Germany to India, since 2011, when the Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC) was set up between our two countries.” Scholz is on a two-day trip to India. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with the visiting German Chancellor in Delhi.