Column | Cricketers & cross-border marriages

Glenn Maxwell is one of the most respected cricketers in limited overs cricket today. A batsman with a fearsome ability to slaughter bowlers of all types, he is an asset to any side he is part of. His strike rate of 125.43 in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 154.26 in T20 Internationals bear testimony to his remarkably destructive abilities with the willow when playing with the white ball. The fact that he has decent average of 34 plus in both these versions of the game indicate that he is not a mere slogger but contributes significantly when in the middle. He possesses an amazing array of unconventional shots in his arsenal, which are unleashed on opponents with audacity and chutzpah, invariably catching them on the wrong foot. The ability to bowl off spin classifies him as an all-rounder and his exceptional abilities as a fielder further adds to his utility value. In short, he is one of the best players in the world in contemporary limited overs cricket.

 

Maxwell is set to marry Vini Raman on March 27 in Melbourne. Vini, born to Tamil parents in Australia, is working as a pharmacist in Melbourne. The duo got engaged a couple of years ago but the wedding was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While Maxwell’s wedding is an event worthy of creating news headlines, a further buzz was added when the wedding card, printed in Tamil in the style of a “muhurtha patrikai”, was leaked to the media. This has triggered discussions in social media as to whether the function will be conducted in traditional “tambrahm” style or as a white gown event, as is usually done in Australia.

 

It was interesting to find out on reading about this topic that cross-border marriages between cricketers and citizens of other countries in not an uncommon phenomenon. Players from other countries who married Aussie women include greats such as Gary Sobers (West Indies), Frank Tyson (England), Wasim Akram (Pakistan), Chris Cairns (New Zealand), Morne Morkel (South Africa) and Carl Hooper (West Indies). Among Indian cricketers, Bishan Singh Bedi was the first player to marry a person of foreign origin. Bedi met Gwenith Miles, hailing from Melbourne, in 1967 when India toured Australia. Bedi and Glenith got married in India couple of years later. They had two kids - Gavasinder and Gillinder - before the couple separated sometime during the early 1970s. 

 

Among the present lot of Indian players, Shikhar Dhawan married Aesha Mukherjee in 2012 after a courtship that lasted three years. Aesha, born to a Bengali father and British mother, had moved to Australia during her childhood while Dhawan continued to stay in Delhi. The couple had a son Zoravaer, who was born in 2014. However, their marriage also went the way of Bedi’s as the couple confirmed in September, 2021, that they had parted ways.

 

If Bedi and Dhawan followed the likes of Sobers and Akram in finding a spouse from Australia, Shaun Tait took the reverse route. Tait holds the record for delivering a ball at speed of 160.7 km/ hour. He became part of Rajasthan Royals side in Indian Premier League from 2010 till 2013 and during this stint met Mashoom Singha, a model hailing from Mumbai. They got married in June, 2014, and the couple have one daughter. Tait, who took up coaching assignments in Pakistan and Afghanistan after his playing days, became an Overseas citizen of India in March, 2017.

 

Though many foreign cricketers have married Indian women, the most famous couple among all will be Shoaib Malik-Sania Mirza pair. Sania, a professional tennis player with six Grand Slam titles to her credit and once ranked amongst the top doubles player in the world, chose to tie the knot with the Pakistani all-rounder in April, 2010. Malik, who led Pakistan side from 2007-2009, divorced his first wife Ayesha Siddiqui to marry Sania. The couple have a son, Izaan Mirza Malik, born in October, 2018.

 

Malik is not the only Pakistani player to marry an Indian lady as Hassan Ali, a fast bowler who is a part of present national team, married Samiya Arzoo, a qualified aeronautical engineer from Rohtak, in August, 2019. Earlier, Mohsin Khan, opening batsman of Pakistan during the 1980s, had wedded Reena Roy, a Bollywood actress, in 1983. After hanging up his boots, Mohsin too tried his hand at acting and figured in some Bollywood movies with moderate success. However, the couple fell apart and announced their divorce in early 1990s, following which Mohsin returned to Pakistan while Reena Roy stayed back in India.

 

Two other famous cricketer with Indian spouses are Muttiah Muralitharan and Mike Brearley. Murali, who holds the world record for highest number of wickets in international cricket, married Madhimalar Ramamurthy in March, 2005. Madhimalar is the daughter of Dr Ramamurthy, owner of Chennai-based Malar Hospitals. Brearley, hailed as one of the most astute amongst captains to have led England, wedded Mana Sarabhai, daughter of industrialist Gautam Sarabhai. They met at Cambridge University during the 1960s.  Brearley regularly visits Ahmedabad and even learnt Gujarati to interact with members of his wife’s family. 

 

Imran Khan, current Prime Minister of Pakistan, was one of best all-rounders in the world during the 1980s besides being a highly successful captain of the national side. During his playing days, he had hordes of admirers from the fairer sex and there was considerable debate in cricketing circles and outside it about the person he would choose to tie the knot. In 1995, Imran announced his marriage to Jemima Goldsmith, a British heiress and a friend of Princess Diana. The couple moved to Pakistan where Imran focused his energies to build a cancer hospital named after his mother, after which he started pursuing a career in politics. But the couple ended their journey together in 2004 when Jemima returned to London citing difficulties in adjusting to the demands of her life on account of political aspirations of her husband.

 

Maxwell is reported to have been shocked by the leaking of the wedding invite and its “viral status” in the social media to the extent that he is contemplating an increase in the security for the function! It is obvious that he does not know about the propensity of Indian masses to celebrate the wedding of celebrities as if it is their own nor about the practice to consider an invite for “relatives and acquaintances” to include relatives of acquaintances and acquaintances of relatives! This is quite the opposite of the intensely private functions that most of the western world are accustomed to. 

 

The alliances detailed above highlight the ability of sports and games to transcend national barriers and bring people of diverse backgrounds together. The fact that India and Pakistan have fought wars or remain as arch enemies on cricket field did not stand in the way of Malik and Sania from entering in a wedlock and finding happiness together. Similarly neither the hard-fought Ashes series nor the fear he induced amongst Aussie batsman prevented Ursula Meis of Melbourne from falling in love with “Typhoon Tyson” and moving to England as his wife. The success of these marriages stand as evidence that there is hope for humanity wherever love and affection triumph over hate and anger.

 

It is said that marriages are made in heaven but celebrated on earth. The meeting of two people belonging to different races, cultures and social practices, separated by huge distances and they getting to know each other so intimately that they decide to spend their lives together certainly indicates that there is something pre-destined about weddings, especially of the types mentioned above. Like with everything else in life, success in weddings involves understanding, adjustment and lots of hard work. And this is even more so when the two people coming together through marriage hail from different backgrounds.

 

Here is wishing Maxwell and Vini a long and happy married life!

 

(The author is a former international cricket umpire and a senior bureaucrat)