In a country where cricketers are treated like Gods, it’s natural that people get attracted towards them. From professional to personal lives, the fans want to know every little detail about their favourite cricketers, especially their love interest.
Love is one of the most sacred feelings in the world. When two people are in love, they don’t care what other people have to say about it.
To them, it doesn’t matter whether their partner is younger or older to them. The Indian cricketers are no exception.
Over the years, several famous Indian cricketers have fallen in love with women much older than them and tied the knot.
While in today’s world marrying an older woman is not looked down upon in society, there was a time when people would be frowned upon for not following society’s archaic norms and opting to marry an older woman.
Even to this date, in some sections of society, people have to go through a lot of ordeals to be with the person they love.
Here we take a look at some of the famous Indian cricketers who married older women:
Sachin Tendulkar – Anjali Tendulkar
Happy wedding anniversary to my dearest @sachin_rt and Anjali. Two of the most lovely people. Wish you both lots of happiness and may God bless always! pic.twitter.com/1u2nxdQcGk
— Vinod Kambli (@vinodkambli349) May 25, 2021
Sachin Tendulkar was all of 22 when he tied the knot with Anjali, who is six years older than the ‘God of Cricket’. Tendulkar married the love of his life on May 24, 1995, after dating her for five years.
It was ‘love at first sight’ for Tendulkar. According to his autobiography, Playing It My Way, the star cricketer saw Anjali at the airport, who was waiting for her parents, while he was returning home after India’s tour of England in 1990.
The feeling was mutual as “He is sooooo cute!” is the first sentence that came out of her mouth after looking at him.
The couple have been married for over 27 years and have two kids – son Arjun Tendulkar and daughter Sara Tendulkar.
Hardik Pandya – Nataša Stanković
According to reports, Hardik and Nataša met each other at a nightclub and something clicked between them.
Hardik proposed to Natasa in Dubai on January 01, 2020 and they tied the knot in a low-key affair on May 31, 2020. The couple embraced parenthood when they welcomed their son Agastya to this world on July 30, the same year.
Jasprit Bumrah – Sanjana Ganesan
India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, currently out of action due to a stress fracture in his back, is married to a famous sports presenter Sanjana Ganesan, who is two years and seven months older to him.
Unlike Tendulkar and Hardik’s love story, Bumrah didn’t fall in love with his better half at first sight. In fact, during an interview, he spilled the beans on his love story, revealing that they both thought each other to be “really arrogant”, hence didn’t talk.
“I had obviously seen her a lot of times but we had the same problem with each other. She thought I was really arrogant, I thought she was really arrogant so we never really spoke,” Bumrah had told Karthik during a Sky Sports interview last year.
They started talking during the 2019 World Cup in the United Kingdom and developed mutual feelings for each other. They have been married for over a year now.
Virat Kohli – Anushka Sharma
Former India captain Virat Kohli is married to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, who is six months older than him. The star couple got married in a private ceremony on December 17, 2017 in Italy.
They both met each other while shooting a commercial for a shampoo brand in 2013. The star cricketer didn’t have the best of first impressions the first time he met the actress. His desperate attempt to break the ice with a joke misfired terribly and he was left embarrassed.
They made their relationship official in November 2014, when they were spotted together watching an Indian Super League match. The couple is happily married for nearly five years and are proud parents to a cute daughter Vamika.
Shikhar Dhawan – Aesha Mukherji
Star India opener Shikhar Dhawan was married to Aesha Mukherji, who was 10 years older than him. After he decided to tie the knot with Aesha, the southpaw had to face resistance within his own family who didn’t approve of the relationship because she was a divorcee, with two kids from her previous marriage.
Dhawan went against his family and tied the knot with Aesha in 2012. They were together for over eight years but decided to part ways in September 2021. Together they have a son named Zoravar.