Boris Johnson on grand India welcome: Felt like Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on a two-day India visit. (Image credit: @narendramodi/Twitter)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday acknowledged the grand reception that he received in India by making a reference to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

“I had an amazing reception. I felt like Sachin Tendulkar," Boris Johnson said while addressing the media alongside Prime Minister Narendra  Modi after the UK-India bilateral talks. "And my face was as ubiquitous as Amitabh Bachchan. I was everywhere to be seen. It was fantastic."

UK PM Boris Johnson calls PM @narendramodi his 'khaas dost' & relieves the moment when he felt like Sachin Tendulkar & Amitabh Bachchan on his India visit#SachinTendulkar#AmitabhBachchan#UK#BorisJohnsonpic.twitter.com/PIUG3XTQqs

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) April 22, 2022

Johnson described Modi as his "khaas dost" or special friend.

The British PM had landed in Ahmedabad on April 21. He went to visit Mahatma Gandhi's ashram in Sabarmati, where he tried his hand at a spinning wheel.

#WATCH | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson visits Sabarmati Ashram, tries his hands on 'charkha' pic.twitter.com/6RTCpyce3k

— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2022

Read: Much ado about Boris Johnson’s visit to JCB factory. See Twitter reactions

Today, he was in Delhi for bilateral talks with Modi.  The two leaders announced after their meeting that India and the UK had agreed to work together to counter "new threats across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace".

Follow our live updates on Boris Johnson's India visit. 

The leaders also insisted on "dialogue and diplomacy" in war-torn Ukraine and spoke about the need for immediate ceasefire.

Johnson talked about the growing threats of "autocratic coercion".

"Therefore it is vital we deepen our cooperation including our shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free,'' he added.