Golf star Anirban Lahiri glued to Champions Trophy at LIV Hong Kong

Anirban Lahiri (Pic: AFP)

Golf star and cricket fan Anirban Lahiri said Wednesday he has been glued to India's Champions Trophy campaign and will be rushing to watch the final when it begins just minutes after the end of LIV Hong Kong.

India will play either New Zealand or South Africa in Dubai on Sunday following victory over Australia - a semi-final that ended in the early hours Wednesday in Hong Kong, where Lahiri is this week for the third leg of the LIV season.

"I've been watching every game," Lahiri, who like most Indians is a big cricket fan, said. "I watched it last night. I streamed it -- my kids woke up after the match finished," he laughed. "We've got a Kiwi and English physio so I've had a really good go at him the last 10 days or so."

Former Presidents Cup star Lahiri lives in Dubai, where India have played all their matches, and has been an avid spectator throughout the eight-team tournament. "I went for the India-Pakistan match 10 days ago, which is like a bucket-list thing to do," Lahiri said.

"It's been good. I'm happy to see the way they're progressing." Lahiri has even spent time with the team at training, he revealed. "Ajit Agarkar, who's the chief selector for the national team, is a friend," explained the former world number 33. "I had the privilege of being there on Friday night last week for India's last practice session before the game against New Zealand. "I just watched all of them go about how they prepare for about an hour.

"I tried to pick up on their cues, how they get into rhythm, their trigger movements, how much time do they take between shots," he said, admitting that he had learned from observing his cricketing heroes. "There's always something that you can imbibe. You can see how they switch on, how they switch off, and I think that's what the best athletes do."

Lahiri is part of Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers team on the Saudi-bankrolled LIV Golf tour, alongside Paul Casey and Charles Howell III. They will be defending the team title they won at Hong Kong last year. Mexico's Abraham Ancer is the individual defending champion for the second edition of LIV Hong Kong, which begins on Friday.

(With agency inputs)