A day after India’s tight 22-run loss to England in the third Test at Lord’s, King Charles III met the Indian team at St. James’ Palace in London. The meeting was held in the Clarence House Garden, with both men’s and women’s teams there to engage with the Highness.
Captain Shubman Gill, coach Gautam Gambhir, and the entire squad met with the King and discussed the outcome of the Test match. The 76-year-old also discussed Mohammed Siraj’s unlucky dismissal, in which the ball rolled onto the stumps, sending the home team ahead 2-1 in the series.
“It was wonderful to meet King Charles III, and he was quite polite and gracious in calling us. We had some great chats. King Charles III warned us that the manner our final batter was dismissed in the previous test match was rather unlucky, with the ball sliding on the stumps… We explained to him that it was an awful match for us and could have gone either way. “Hopefully, we’ll have better luck in the next two games,” Gill told the media, as quoted by Times Now.
It was a very historic moment when King Charles III invited the teams: Rajeev Shukla
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla introduced the players to the King, who was equally curious about their lives apart from cricket. Shukla later revealed that King Charles personally asked about Indian pacer Akash Deep’s sister, who is currently battling cancer.
“It was a very historic moment when King Charles III invited the Men’s and Women’s Indian Cricket teams. The players are very happy after meeting him…The King also asked me about the book that I gave him…He also asked me about the health of Indian Cricketer Akash Deep’s sister. We had a discussion with the King regarding the Lord’s test match…The King said that the dismissal of Mohammed Siraj was very unfortunate; otherwise, India could have won the match…The team has proved that they are fighters…We will win the series,” said the BCCI VP.
Also present at the meeting were members of the Indian women’s team who were coming off a historic 3-2 T20I series win over England, India’s first ever in English conditions. Head coaches Gautam Gambhir (men’s) and Amol Muzumdar (women’s) were part of the delegation, along with Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale.
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