IND vs ENG: King Charles III meets Team India, inquires about Akash Deep's cancer-stricken sister
BCCI
) Vice President Rajeev Shukla expressed his happiness after both the Indian men's and women's cricket teams met King Charles III, saying the monarch 'had done his homework' and even enquired about personal details of the players — including pacer Akash Deep's sister's battle with cancer.
King Charles III hosted the two Indian teams at St. James's Palace in London on Tuesday. Present at the event were India men's captain
Shubman Gill
, women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur, team members, and coaching staff.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Speaking to ANI, Shukla said, "It was a very historic occasion that both our men's and women's teams were invited today by King Charles and met them very well in the Palace. Players are very happy because he asked all personal details of each player.
He asked Saikia ji (BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia) and me about whether Arun Jaitley is my friend, what happened to him, and when I told him that he had died, he asked me to pay condolences to his family.
He also asked about Akash Deep's sister's illness."
"He had found out so many details. He sounded like a gentleman, and it did not seem we were talking to the King of England. There is a lot of humility in him and team is very happy to meet him," he added.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription
Techno Mag
Learn More
Undo
Shukla further revealed that King Charles also discussed the thrilling third Test at Lord's, calling Mohammed Siraj's dismissal 'unfortunate,' as the ball spun back onto the stumps after being middled. That moment ended India's late resistance in their chase of 193, resulting in a 22-run loss.
India vs England: India fall short at Lord's, England lead series 2-1
"Even he noticed this fact. If we had another regular batter on the field, then we could have won easily. Our team has proven that our experiment is well done (to send a young team), as part of which we have sent a new team because we are looking forward to the future.
The team has proven itself to be a fighter unit. We almost won here. We did well at Leeds. Our team is competing with England equally and will win the series as two matches are since left," he added.
Commenting on Shubman Gill's leadership, Shukla praised the young captain for answering critics with both leadership and runs.
"He has also proven himself with the bat. A century, then a double century and a century, what could be better than this?" added the BCCI Vice President.
On the absence of senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from Tests before the series, Shukla said their decision was personal and respected by the board.
"They have retired themselves. We will always miss them, they are both great batsmen and the good thing for us is that they are available for ODIs," he concluded.
Also present at the gathering were BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla and India's High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami.
While the men's team is currently engaged in the five-Test series in England, the women's team recently clinched a historic 3-2 T20I series win and will now play three ODIs starting Wednesday in Southampton.
During the meeting, King Charles had a brief chat with Shubman Gill, where the two discussed the dramatic ending of the third Test. Referring to Siraj's dismissal, the King remarked on the misfortune of the ball rolling back to hit the stumps.
Gill responded, 'It's a game of cricket.'
Shubman Gill blames 'judgement error' as Rishabh Pant run-out haunts India in Lord's heartbreak
Charles also shared a light-hearted moment with vice-captain Rishabh Pant and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, laughing together during their conversation. He later interacted with the rest of the squad, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and head coach Gautam Gambhir. Following that, he spent time with the Indian women's team as well.
Before meeting the King, the Indian contingent also had an informal interaction with British actor and musician Idris Elba.
Speaking 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 also spoke to members of the women's team.
After the group photos, King Charles also spoke with India quick Prasidh Krishna and batter Karun Nair, and met uncapped left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
Gill described the experience of meeting King Charles as a memorable one: '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.'
He also spoke about the King's reference to the dramatic final moments of the Lord's Test: '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."
Harmanpreet Kaur also shared her thoughts, saying, "Uh, it was a very nice experience. Uh, 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."
"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.
Women's team head coach Amol Muzumdar also reflected on the moment, saying, "It has 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."
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Everyone would want him to maintain this form': Expectations from Shubman Gill listed out ahead of fifth India vs England Test
Regardless of what the result will be of the first series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, what seems set in stone is that Shubman Gill's performance with the bat is set to go down in history as one of the greatest performances by an Indian batter in overseas conditions. The 25-year-old has scored 722 runs this far in eight innings with four centuries. The fact that this comes in a series in which he made his debut as India's Test captain makes it even more special. However, former wicketkeeper batter Parthiv Patel has warned that for now, Gill would probably be subjected to criticism if he fails to fire in the fifth Test at the Oval which starts on Thursday. 'Everyone would want him to maintain the kind of form he has shown,' said Parthiv on Star Sports. 'There were a lot of questions raised earlier in this series — about his struggles in overseas conditions, where he wasn't getting runs or converting starts. But he has answered all those questions brilliantly. Hopefully, he continues this momentum.' Parthiv pointed out the fact that negative murmurs had come around Gill's abilities even after he scored a two centuries and a double centuries in his first four innings of the series. Gill marked his debut innings as Test captain with a masterful 147 in the first innings of the first Test. He then scored 269 and 161 in an incredible feat of batsmanship in the second Test that broke a plethora of records. This, however, was followed by scores of 16, 6 and 12 in the subsequent innings before his 103 off 238 helped India avoid defeat in the fourth Test. 'Even before this fifth test match, people were talking, and that too after he had already scored 600 runs in the series. One bad Test at Lord's, and questions started coming up again. So, I really hope Shubman Gill delivers another big contribution in this crucial final Test,' said Patel. Gill is the first Test captain to record four centuries in an away series. Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar are the only other captains to record four tons in a series. Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Mohammed Yousuf the only other batters to record the feat in the 21st century. He has also smashed Rahul Dravid's record for most runs scored by an Indian in a Test series in England.
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
LSG announce Bharat Arun as bowling coach
The Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday announced Bharat Arun as their new bowling coach. Arun, who has earned plaudits for his work with the Indian team as a bowling coach in the staff led by Ravi Shastri from 2017 to 2021, joins LSG after a succesfull stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders. 'It's an honour to join the Lucknow Super Giants, a franchise that reflects professionalism, ambition, and vision at every level,' the 62-year-old said in a statement on the franchise's official website. 'My conversations with Dr. Sanjiv Goenka and the management were incredibly energizing – there is a clear intent to invest in young Indian talent and build a long-term legacy. 'What excites me most is the vision for long-term development. LSG has invested in a young, talented, and dynamic group of Indian fast bowlers – Akash deep, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan, and Akash Singh – and I see immense potential in each of them. My mission is to help shape them into a cohesive, fearless, and tactically sharp pace unit that can challenge the best batting line-ups in the world.' One of the best in the business. He is now a Super Giant ?? — Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) July 30, 2025 Arun had been with KKR in the same role for four years. He was part of the coaching staff that powered the team to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title in more than a decade in 2024. However, this was followed by a disappointing eighth-placed finish last season, in which their decision to let go of Shreyas Iyer came under sharp criticism. KKR are rejigging their coaching staff with Abhishek Nayar and Dwayne Bravo all set to call the shots. Hence Chandrakant Pandit and Arun, the two veterans, left the team. LSG are yet to announce if they will retain former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan and former Australia opener Justin Langer as mentor and head coach respectively. Both their contracts are set to end before the start of the 2026 season.
The Hindu
11 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Top board: on Divya Deshmukh's women's chess World Cup win
Divya Deshmukh's astonishing performance at the women's chess World Cup has put the limelight back on Indian chess, yet again. Rarely does a week pass without an Indian player achieving a significant feat in some corner of the world. Still, what Divya did at Batumi, Georgia, on Monday, deserves attention. The 19-year-old from Nagpur won one of the most prestigious tournaments, coming through a gruelling knockout competition, outwitting rivals much stronger and more experienced. She had started out as the 15th seed. That she defeated another Indian, the fourth-seeded Koneru Humpy and reigning World rapid chess champion, in the final, underlined the country's domination of the event. Two other Indians, D. Harika and R. Vaishali, had also advanced to the quarterfinals. The great show in Georgia does not make India a superpower in women's chess, though. That honour belongs to China, home to the last three women's World champions. Though the Indian women, like the men, won the Chess Olympiad last year at Budapest, China has more depth. India may now boast the world's best young talent among men, in the form of World champion D. Gukesh, World No. 4 R. Praggnanandhaa and No. 5 Arjun Erigaisi among others, but the bench in women's chess is not all that strong. Divya's — and India's — stunning success should no doubt inspire young girls to take up chess as a career. The huge media attention that Divya has received — she has been featured on the front pages of newspapers, became breaking news on TV and got plenty of traction online — could encourage even more parents to make their daughters learn chess. And India needs more girls to move the pieces on the chessboard. Though the current Indian lineup looks good enough to retain the Olympiad gold next year, it is imperative that the country needs to spot and nurture fresh young talent. There are a few players such as Vantika Agrawal and B. Savitha Shri, but in the world's top 100, there are only eight Indians, while China has 14, including the top three. India's chess administrators have to make some long-term plans for women's chess, and should implement them quickly. After identifying a fairly large group of promising girls, they need to be properly trained and provided excellent coaches. Only few families can afford the highly expensive trainers and the travel to Europe, from where the Indian players usually make their norms for their Grandmaster or International Master titles. There should also be more such tournaments in India.
