Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday (February 9) mixed diplomacy with cricketing humor while addressing a reception held at the residence of the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gora, praising the US cricket team’s performance against India in the T20 World Cup and highlighting the ambassador’s role in strengthening bilateral trade ties.
A ‘Great Performance’ by the US Cricket Team
Referring to the recent T20 World Cup match between India and the United States, Goyal said the US may have lost the game but their performance was impressive given the country’s relatively new involvement in the sport.
“The United States may not have won yesterday’s match, but I have to say that for a country that did not know cricket and started cricket a few years ago, the performance was fabulous,” Goyal said.
He emphasized the flippant observation about the edge of defeat.
“Sergio pointed out one very important factor — the US lost the match by 18%. And I very humbly told him that if you just zeroed out the reciprocal tariffs, you might have won the match,” Goyal said.
“I was really impressed with the fabulous performance by the US cricket team,” he added.
Praise for the trade deal for the US ambassador
Goyal also took the opportunity to publicly acknowledge Ambassador Gore’s role in promoting trade relations between India and the United States.
“I have to record that the trade agreement would not have been possible without his support, his personal management of the entire contract,” said the minister.
Goyal thanked the envoy and said Gore’s efforts helped further strengthen bilateral relations.
“Thank you very much, Sergio, for all you have done to further strengthen this bond between the US and India,” he said.
