Cricketers are followed passionately by their fans and haters alike. In the wake of the pandemic, celebrities post their wedding photos online and are congratulated by their fans and colleagues. This is enabled due to the monumental rise of social media.
With very little cricket happening around the world, people are more interested in the players’ personal lives. To please the fans, cricketers pretty much oblige and post pictures of their wedding ceremonies. Some such weddings of the past and in recent times have caught the eye of the people. Why?
Because they married their relatives. These players put love above any social taboo seen in society these days.
Here, we list the names of 5 cricketers who followed their hearts and married their relatives:
1) Virender Sehwag – Aarti Ahlawat
The swashbuckling Indian ex-cricketer was known for his fireworks on the pitch. No matter the format, he adopted an aggressive playstyle. As a result, he was one of the most entertaining players India has ever produced. Sehwag was a unique player who set new benchmarks in Indian cricket. He holds the record for most numbers of triple hundreds(2) scored in Test cricket history. He was an integral part of India’s 2011 World cup winning squad.
His personal life was followed closely by his fans. He married his childhood friend in a dream wedding hosted by the former finance minister, Arun Jaitley. They are happily married for 17 years now and have two sons.
2) Shahid Afridi – Nadia Afridi
Shahid Afridi was a genuine all-rounder and a match-winner for Pakistan. He scored the fastest hundred in a one-day game off just 37 balls until the record was broken by Corey Anderson. Afridi currently holds the record for most wickets taken as a captain in T20I’s. He was not bereft of controversies, but he never let any off-the-pitch antics affect his display on the field.
Afridi got married at the age of 20. His wife is Nadia Afridi, who is a maternal cousin. They’ve been married for 21 years and have five daughters. It was recently announced that his daughter, Aqsa, will be engaged to current Pakistani cricketer Shaheen Afridi.
3) Saeed Anwar – Lubna
The Pakistani southpaw was one of the most fluent and elegant batsmen during the mid-’90s. He was the batting mainstay of Pakistan during his peak years. The famous 194 against India at Chepauk, which incidentally was the highest score back then, is etched in cricketing history.
In 1996 he got married to his cousin, Lubna who was a doctor by profession. Anwar was at a happy stage in his life until a tragedy struck in 2001. His 3-year-old daughter died due to a prolonged illness. The couple stood the test of time and married to this day. His cricketing journey ended after the 2003 ICC World cup.
4) Mustafizur Rahman – Samia Parvin
Fizz, as he’s lovingly known, has lifted Bangladesh’s bowling standards to new levels. The speedster has changed the dynamics of the country’s bowling unit and his records speak volumes. His off cutters became famous in the IPL and his stocks quickly grew. He plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad and is very much sought after in the other big leagues around the world.
After narrowly surviving the Christchurch bombings in NZ, Mustafizur decided to settle down in life. The youngster tied the knot with his maternal cousin, Samia Parvin. She is a psychology student at Dhaka University. Plenty of Bangladesh cricketers attended the wedding after the 2019 World cup.
5) Mosaddek Hossain – Sharmin Samira Usha
Mosaddek Hossain is another talented youngster who plays for Bangladesh Cricket Team. His records in the domestic arena are noteworthy. One of them is being the only batsman from Bangladesh to score 3 double centuries in first-class cricket.
in 2012 at the age of 16, Mosaddek married his cousin, Sharmin Samira. It was all breezy until 2018 when he started making the news for the wrong reasons. He was accused of harassing his wife over dowry. She filed charges against him and he almost lost his place in the squad. The couple have now parted ways and probably damaged family relations as well.