Indian skipper Shubman Gill expresses excitement after meeting Manchester United football team
Jul 21, 2025
Manchester [UK ], July 21 : Team India met the Manchester United football team on Sunday ahead of the fourth Test of the five-match series in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, which will take place at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester from July 23.
Indian skipper Shubman Gill expressed his excitement to be able to meet top football athletes, and to know their stories is very inspiring.
In a video posted by BCCI on X Gill said, "Very exciting to be able to meet top athletes in the world from another sport. To get to know their stories is very inspiring. How two sports, you're playing two different sports, but the mindset that you play with is most of the time very similar."
Indian head coach Guatam Gambhir also relfected on meeting Manchester players, he said, "I've been here in 2014 as well. This is a completely different experience because you end up chatting with the players. You end up chatting with Ruben as well, which was a nice interaction. What his ideology is towards team sport and what my ideology is towards team sport. The basic foundation of a team sport is very similar. Where I feel that I think it's the players that adapt to what the team needs, rather than the team that adapts to a certain individual."
During the meet-up, Team India vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant gifted a signed bat to Manchester United football team captain Bruno Fernandes. India's right-arm seamer Mohammed Siraj was also bowling to a Manchester United defender, Harry Maguire.
Recapping the Lord's Test of the ongoing series, an unfortunate dismissal of Mohammed Siraj at the hands of Shoaib Bashir, with the ball rolling back into the stumps after a landing on the pitch, marked the end of India's stubborn resistance at Lord's, with Ravindra Jadeja left stranded following a heartbreaking 22-run loss.
India lost the match despite dominating England for large parts of the game, with Jasprit Bumrah being one of the standout performers. He took seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings.India are currently 1-2 down in the five-match series after losing the third Test at Lord's by just 22 runs.
