London: India men’s and women’s cricket teams, led by captains Shubman Gill and Harmanpreet Kaur, met King Charles III at St. James’s Palace in London on Tuesday. The meeting was also attended by BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla and India’s High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami.
The men’s team is currently in England for a five-match Test series, while the women’s side recently clinched a historic 3-2 T20I series win and is set to play a three-match ODI series beginning Wednesday in Southampton.
During a brief chat with Gill, King Charles mentioned the dramatic final moments of the third Test against England, where India fell short by 22 runs. He referred specifically to the delivery by Shoaib Bashir that bowled Mohammed Siraj. Gill responded with a smile, saying, “It’s a game of cricket.”
The King also spoke with vice-captain Rishabh Pant and ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, sharing a light-hearted moment with the two. He then met other members of the men’s team, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and head coach Gautam Gambhir, before interacting with the women’s squad.
Earlier, the Indian contingent also met British actor and musician Idris Elba. In his interaction with Gill, Bumrah, and Pant, Elba said, “I’d say I’m a fan, but I don’t follow cricket as well as I should. I was just a little bowler, that’s all.” He later spent time with the women’s team as well.
After a group photo session, King Charles also spoke with fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, batter Karun Nair, and uncapped left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
Reflecting on the royal meeting, Gill told reporters, “It was amazing. He was kind and generous to host us. It was a pleasure to meet him and have such good conversations.”
Sharing more about their chat, Gill added, “He mentioned how unfortunate that last dismissal was. The ball just rolled onto the stumps. He asked how we felt, and we told him it could have gone either way, but hopefully luck will favour us in the next games.”
Harmanpreet Kaur also expressed her excitement: “It was a lovely experience. We’ve toured England many times, but this was our first time meeting him. He was friendly and asked us how the travel had been. It was really nice.”
She added, “We’ve been playing good cricket and getting opportunities to express ourselves. I’m really happy with how things are going.”
Women’s team head coach Amol Muzumdar called it a humbling moment: “It was our first time visiting the royal residence. We came all the way from Southampton, and it was completely worth it. The girls were very excited, and we’re honoured to be here.”
