As reported by some media outlets, 90% of marriages in India are arranged by the individual’s family member(s). However, when it comes to majority of Indian celebrities especially from the fields of Cricket and Cinema, falling in love is an important prerequisite to get married more often than not.
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In this age of social media, finding partners for celebrities is not really that challenging. Talking about cricketers, Virat Kohli had met Anushka Sharma during a TV commercial shoot, KL Rahul got connected with Athiya Shetty via their mutual friend, while Hardik Pandya had the luxury to brew his romance with Natasha Stankovic only after a brief interaction with her at a night club.
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However, things were not really easy-peasy for people during the 70s or 80s. Not even for one of the best Indian batters of all time – Sunil Gavaskar.
Sunil Gavaskar roamed in the lanes of Kanpur to marry the love of his life
She wasn’t a Bollywood celebrity, or the daughter of a renowned industrialist. Marshneil Gavaskar had first met Sunil Gavaskar in 1973, while she was a student at the Lady Sriram College in Delhi.
A huge Cricket fan, she would once seek his autograph while at a stadium in Delhi post one of the ‘Little Master’s’ matches. Struck by her beauty, Gavaskar had perhaps decided that she is the one and made up his mind to track her residential address.
He soon arrived at Marshneil’s hometown in Kanpur, and stayed at one of his friend’s house in the city. Marshneil on the other hand, was unversed with any of Gavaskar’s efforts.
He would soon then, akin a lead actor from an Indian movie, roam around in the lanes near her house to have a glimpse of her.
One fine day, the Indian opening batter would invite her entire family to watch him play during a Test match in Kanpur, and soon after the end of the match, he would propose to her in the presence of her entire family.
Having played another memorable innings, this time off-the-pitch, Marshneil’s family would ultimately agree to their relationship and the duo would get married on September 13, 1974.
