The Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams met King Charles III at Clarence House on Tuesday ahead of their respective fixtures in England.
The monarch, who hosted the teams for a reception at his official residence in London, shared his thoughts on the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Test series.
Referring to the recently concluded third Test at Lord’s, which India lost by 22 runs, King Charles told the team that he had watched the highlights and was particularly struck by the dismissal of pacer Mohammed Siraj.
Describing it as “unfortunate,” the King recalled the moment with captain Shubman Gill, noting how the ball rolled onto the stumps.
“It was amazing to meet King Charles III and he was very kind and generous to call us. We had some really good conversations. King Charles III told us that the way our last batsman got out in the previous Test match was quite unfortunate, the ball rolling on the stumps. We told him that it was an unfortunate match for us and could have gone either ways. Hopefully, we will have better luck in both the next games,” Gill said following the event.
The King also interacted with several key players, including Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.
Present during the visit were Indian high commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami, deputy high commissioner Sujit Ghosh, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla, and secretary Devajit Saikia.
Gill also acknowledged the passionate support from Indian fans in the UK. “We’re fortunate to receive strong backing wherever we play. At first, the crowd at Lord’s seemed more England-leaning, but over the last few days, the support for us was overwhelming,” he said.
On the hard-fought third Test, he added, “Both teams showed passion and pride, giving everything mentally and physically. When a five-day Test ends with such a narrow margin, cricket wins.”
India, chasing 193 for victory, suffered a batting collapse and were bowled out for 170 on the final day, despite being eight down early on Day 5.
On the women’s side, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur expressed her delight over the Royal invitation. “Meeting the King was a wonderful experience. This was our first time meeting him, he was very friendly and asked about our travel,” she said.
Women’s team head coach Amol Muzumdar echoed the sentiment, saying, “It was a humbling moment at the Royal House. We traveled all the way from Southampton, and it was definitely worth it.”
Following the visit, the Indian men’s team departed for Manchester to prepare for the fourth Test, while the women’s team returned to Southampton ahead of their ODI clash with England, having recently sealed a narrow 3-2 win in the T20I series.