Dominic Perrottet has channeled his inner John Howard with a shocking cricket bowl in India.
The NSW Premier was in Mumbai on Thursday with Trade Secretary Stuart Ayres to open a trade office in the city as part of the couple’s Asia trip.
Mr Perrottet decided to hit the nets during his visit to the Mumbai Cricket Association, where he was filmed bowling a cricket ball.
Dominic Perrottet (pictured) has sent down an embarrassing cricket delivery reminiscent of John Howard’s bowling in 2005
The NSW Premier (left) met at the Mumbai Cricket Association in India on Thursday as part of his 10-day trip to Asia alongside Trade Secretary Stuart Ayres (pictured with Mumbai Cricket Association President Vijay Patil and great wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist).
The Premier, who was at the inside nets with great wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist, was seen running towards the crease before awkwardly rolling the ball towards a batsman at the other end of the pitch.
Mr Perrottet seems to be holding on to the ball a little too long as it hits the ground next to him and bounces high in the air.
He also tried his hand at batting, where he was pictured hitting a cricket ball with Gilchrist and Indian fielders standing nearby.
Mr Perrottet’s bowling commemorated John Howard’s failed delivery in Pakistan in 2005.
The former Prime Minister memorably rolled the ball right under his feet in front of local children and the Australian military during a visit to the earthquake-ravaged country.
His first and third attempts bounced just in front of him and his second attempt missed the stumps by a wide margin.
He had offered bowling to Pakistan’s Minister of Religion, Ejaz-ul-Haq, during their visit to an Australian Army medical camp in Dhanni, some 35 km from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Mr Perrottet’s shocking bowl was identical to when John Howard (pictured) tried to bowl a cricket ball in Pakistan 15 years ago
The former Prime Minister memorably rolled the ball right under his feet in front of local children and the Australian military during a visit to the earthquake-ravaged country
The Prime Minister also dabbled in batting where he hit cricket balls as Gilchrist while two Indian cricketers stood nearby
Mr Perrottet and Stuart Ayres are currently on a 10 day tour of Asia which included visits to Japan and South Korea.
The duo on Thursday opened a trade office in Mumbai, India, which aims to tap into India’s highly educated and fast-growing middle class, particularly in the education and tourism sectors.
“India is an important trade and investment market for our state. Our two-way trade value reached $4.6 billion in 2020/21, making it one of our largest and most important growth markets,” said Perrottet.
“The coming decade is about economic transformation… (and) India’s importance to NSW cannot be underestimated.”
Mr Ayres praised future business opportunities in trade with the world’s most populous democracy.
“I can’t imagine a country anywhere in the world that would be more important to the economic prosperity of Australia and NSW,” he told reporters from Mumbai.
“Mumbai is in many ways the Sydney of India.”
Indian-born Australians are the second largest migrant group in Australia, behind those from the UK, and make up about three percent of the country’s population.
In NSW, the parish has grown by around 50 per cent since the 2016 census.
The NSW PM was on a 10-day trip to Asia with Trade Secretary Stuart Ayres (pictured). The couple have already visited Japan and South Korea and will round off their trip with a visit to Bangalore, India
The trip was marred by controversy surrounding the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister John Barilaro (pictured) to a cushy job as New York’s trade commissioner. Mr Barilaro will testify at an inquest into the appointment in August
Mr. Perrottet travels to Bangalore, home to hundreds of technology-focused companies with a global footprint, to sell the state’s reputation as a start-up.
He will visit the campus of Infosys, a leading global IT company specializing in software solutions for insurance, banking, telecom and manufacturing companies.
The Prime Minister will take a tour of his Living Labs and showcase his latest experimental technology, which will include robots connected to virtual reality, to round out the final day of the trip.
The mutual trade value between India and NSW reached US$4.6 billion last year, making it one of the largest markets in the state.
But the prime minister’s investor canvassing trip has been marred by the growing controversy over the appointment of former deputy prime minister John Barilaro to a cushy job as trade commissioner in New York.
Documents released from an ongoing investigation into the appointment showed that Jenny West, a former senior official, had been identified as the preferred candidate before the role was re-advertised, and Mr Barilaro was eventually appointed.
Both Mr Perrottet and Mr Ayres told Parliament in June that they had been told that the initial recruitment process had not identified any successful candidates and that the appointments would be made by Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown.
Mr. Barilaro resigned from his position in late June, less than two weeks after his appointment was announced, citing unwanted media attention.
He faces a House of Lords inquiry in early August.
