'It was a pleasure meeting the King, and we had some really good conversations.'
The Indian 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.
Accompanied by their coaching staff, BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla, and India's High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, the teams engaged in a warm and lively exchange with the monarch.
King Charles discussed the thrilling final moments of the third Test at Lord's, where India fell short by 22 runs in a thrilling finish on Monday.
He highlighted the dramatic dismissal of India's lastman Mohammed Siraj, who was bowled by Shoaib Bashir after the ball spun back onto the stumps.
"It's a game of cricket," Gill quipped, prompting laughter from the King, who also interacted with vice-captain Rishabh Pant, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, head coach Gautam Gambhir and the other Indian players.
"It was amazing. I think he was very kind and generous to be able to call us here, and it was a pleasure meeting the King, and we had some really good conversations," Gill said of the meeting with King Charles.
"Yes, he did tell us that the way our last batsman got out was quite unfortunate. The ball was rolling on the stumps, and he was just asking us how we felt after that, and we told him it was an unfortunate match for us. It could have gone either way, but hopefully we will have better luck in the next games."
The King then met the Indian women's team, fresh off a historic 3-2 T20 International series victory against England.
"It was a very nice experience. We came to England so many times, but this was our first time when we met him, and he was very friendly. He asked us, like, how the travel was and all, and, um, it was really nice to meet him," said India women's captain Harmanpreet.
"Definitely, we have been playing good cricket, and I think with that we are getting a lot of opportunity to express ourselves, so really happy the way things are moving on," she added.
India women's team head coach Amol Muzumdar expressed his delight and said, "It's been a very humbling experience coming here to the Royal House and meeting the king. It's been the first time, so we came all the way from Southampton, but it was really worth it, and the girls were really excited about this visit, and we are pleased that we are here."
Before their meeting with King Charles, the Indian team also met renowned British actor and musician Idris Elba.
"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 admitted.
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