Watch: PM Modi’s reaction to New Zealand PM’s Champions Trophy loss joke

New Zealand’s PM Luxon humorously referred to the final and said that he and PM Modi had mutually agreed to avoid discussing the outcome of the match to prevent a “major diplomatic incident”.

𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚-𝐍𝐙 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭!

At the joint press meet, PM Luxon joked about New Zealand’s recent losses to India in cricket, thanking PM @narendramodi for not bringing it up.

“Let’s just keep it that way and avoid a… pic.twitter.com/Kaeuh6LSir

— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) March 17, 2025

PM Luxon said, “I do want to say to the Prime Minister I really have appreciated him not raising another recent loss of New Zealand to India in the recent game that we played in Dubai. But I haven’t mentioned any of the Test series wins that we had on our recent trips to India either.”

During the press meet along with PM Modi, New Zealand’s PM Luxon added “So, let’s just keep it that way and avoid a major diplomatic incident.” PM Modi was seen laughing during the banter mentioned by the New Zealand’s prime minister.

PM Luxon praised Indian cricket team’s performance and said, “During PM Modi’s tenure, the men in blue (Indian cricket team) have been the most dominant side in cricket, most recently winning the Champions Trophy in Dubai against my men in black (New Zealand cricket team). They broke many many New Zealanders’ hearts in the process, including mine. I will be the bigger person and just say congratulations,” as quoted by PTI.

Earlier, PM Modi had said that India and New Zealand support a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific. He added, “We believe in the policy of development, not expansionism.”

The joint statement issued after the press meet between the two prime ministers stated “the PM’s recognised that we face an increasingly uncertain and dangerous world. They noted that, as maritime nations, India and New Zealand have a strong and common interest in an open, inclusive, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific, where the rules-based international order is upheld.”