Cricketing hero's getting hitched

How they met their match - Desi Tent Hire In a cricket crazy nation every bit of news on cricketers makes it to the front pages. Almost everyone knows which batsman hit a ton and who was out for a duck. But what most cricket fans want to know is which cricketer is married and which one is a bachelor. Another point of interest being the love lives of our cricketers. This is front page news. Azharuddin caused a scandal by walking out of an arranged marriage and settling down with a Bollywood actress. Javagal Srinath's marriage broke up and Sourav Ganguly's touched breaking point when he was photographed at a temple with a film star. Wives/girlfriends of cricket heroes share the same news space as any film star. Cricket and romance are inseparable. But two of the recent marriages (Rahul and Laxman) were both arranged by their parents. Regardless, every bit of the news was devoued with great curiousity and intensity. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's whirlwind amour with the dimpled Bollywood star Sharmila Tagore was the stuff paperbacks were made of. Keeping in mind the current mood ShaadiTimes digs out how some cricketers found their real life matches. Sachin Tendulkar - Anjali Sachin is married to his childhood friend Dr. Anjali who is six years older than him. But the age difference did not deter Sachin from proposing to her. The two met through common friends and before they knew it, they decided to tie the knot. The daughter of industrialist Ashok and Annabelle Mehta, Anjali is a practising paediatrician. Friends say that Sachin and Anjali met through mutual friends and fell in love. It is also a well-known fact that Sachin is a very private person who guards his marriage as his private property. Sourav Ganguly - Dona For Dona, Sourav is still the next-door neighbour (in the real sense because only a boundary wall separates the two houses in Behala, Kolkata), her best friend with whom she fell in love later. She says that she fell in love with the man, not the cricketer. However, ask her who proposed to whom and when, and she immediately replies that its too private a matter to be disclosed. Dona was in class XII when things became serious between them. But the couple had to do everything to keep it a secret not only because their parents were conservative, but also because their fathers, who were best of friends at one time, had suddenly become sworn enemies. Dona and Sourav eloped and got married. "I realised that I couldn't stay away from her any more and I didn't care what the elders felt", Sourav said in an interview. Later, of course, their families patched up their differences and organised a lavish wedding reception for them. Rahul Dravid - Vijeta This is the girl mamma picked for him. Breaking millions of hearts, Indian cricket team's Mr Reliable Rahul Dravid married Vijeta Pendharkar, a doctor by profession in Bangalore on Sunday. Dr Vijeta did her MS (General) in November 2002 from the Government Medical College here. Her mother Jayshree Pendharkar is a dietician and her father is a retired IAF officer. VVS Laxman - Shailaja The latest to get hooked for life is VVS Laxman. He tied the nuptial knot with computer science student G R Shailaja at a simple ceremony at Jewel Gardens in Secunderabad at 53 minutes past midnight on Monday, February 16, 2004. Shailaja, the bride-to-be, is an MCA student and a close relative, "It's an arranged marriage and the girl is our close relative from my husband's side. Marriages are made in heaven", Laxman's mother Dr Satyabhama informed. Virender Sehwag - Arti Set to open a new innings of his life, opener Virender Sehwag got engaged to Delhi girl Arti Singh at a solemn ceremony. A simple and reserved person off the field, the 24-year-old star cricketer was impressed with Arti's down-to-earth nature and will tie the nuptial knot on April 22, four days after the Indian team returns from Pakistan, family sources said. The 'prince of Najafgarh' was stumped by the 'homely' maiden from Delhi, who was also the 'unanimous choice of our family', they said. Arti, who belongs to a middle-class Jat family, is in her early twenties and currently pursuing a diploma course. And whilst the married players are 'out of bounds' for most young girls, the most eligible bachelors of the Indian team - Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan remain the centre of female attention. Yuvraj is, perhaps, dating a Bollywood actress but marriage is not on cards for him for some years, at least that's what he says.

-Desi Tent Hire