New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) British Prime Minister David Cameron took up the willow and played a few shots as former India captain Kapil Dev bowled to him at the National Stadium here Thursday. He described the refurbished stadium as ‘world class’ and also wished the Commonwealth Games ‘every success’.
Cameron had gone for a visit to view Commonwealth Games facilities in the afternoon. The National Stadium was venue of the World Hockey Cup in February this year and will hold the hockey matches of the Commonwealth Games.
Kapil Dev, who captained India’s World Cup winning team in 1983 in London, was part of a delegation of Indian sportspersons who were present there. The others included cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi, Olympian runner Milkha Singh and sprint queen P.T. Usha.
A British sports delegation was also in attendance. The members included Sebastian Coe, head of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, Kelly Holmes, president of Commonwealth Games England, Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave and Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the English Premier League.
On Thursday in Bangalore, Cameron had said he had grown up admiring Kapil Dev as he did Ian Botham.
‘Many of you in this room would have grown up revering Kapil Dev. I did the same with Ian Botham,’ he said to a beaming audience at the Infosys campus.
Cameron and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague arrived together at the stadium, where he was greeted by Indian Sports Minister M.S. Gill and Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of CWG Organizing Committee.
Cameron was given a briefing on the security preparations for the Games. Delhi Police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal was present during the meeting.
The Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi Oct 3-14.
