India captain Virat Kohli has tied the knot with his partner and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma. The wedding, attended by family and close friends of Kohli and Sharma, took place in Italy.
Kohli, who has climbed to No. 2 among batsmen in the ICC Test rankings, had asked for time off from the ongoing ODI series and the subsequent T20Is against Sri Lanka at home. He had also spoken of the rest his body needed having played non-stop cricket since the start of India’s home season in 2016. Known for his relentless attitude towards fitness, Kohli urged the BCCI and the selectors to give him a break. “I am no robot,” he said at the outset of the Test series against Sri Lanka in November.
Eventually, the selectors decided to rest Kohli for the limited-overs leg of the Sri Lanka series. Kohli will return to lead India during their tour of South Africa which begins with the first Test from January 5 in Cape Town.
This is not the first instance of an India cricketer marrying a Bollywood celebrity. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi married Sharmila Tagore when he was India’s Test captain in the late 1960s.
Sharma has travelled with Kohli on tours, especially overseas. In an interview with The Cricket Monthly in 2015, Kohli said she gave him much-needed emotional support away from cricket.
“I can be myself around her,” Kohli said then.