5 Indian cricketers and how they performed on the pitch before and after marriage

The Indian cricket team has been on a roll over the past few months. After inflicting a whitewash on New Zealand in the Test series and winning the ODIs 3-2, they have sealed the Test series against England as well in emphatic fashion. Midway through the Test series, the Indian squad had another reason to celebrate as they all attended Yuvraj Singh’s wedding which was conducted in grand fashion.

Yuvraj joined a host of other Indian cricketers to have tied the knot. While there are a few cricketers of the current Indian squad who have performed a lot better after their marriage, there are a few of those whose form has dipped. In this article, we look at the performance of 5 Indian cricketers and their performance before and after marriage.

Note: The stats have been updated until before the India-England series.

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#5 Umesh Yadav

This Indian fast bowler made his debut back in 2011 against West Indies and has been an integral part of the success of the Indian cricket team over the past few years. Known for his ability to bowl at an average speed of 140 plus, he has formed a successful partnership with Mohammad Shami.

He has played 24 Tests and 62 ODIs and taken 152 wickets in total with an average of 38 in Tests and 33 in ODIs.

He got engaged to Delhi-based fashion designer Tanya Wadhwa on 16 April 2013 and got married the very next month. While his bowling average in Test cricket has slightly worsened after marriage, his ODI average seemed to have improved a lot.

Year of Marriage	Tests before marriage	Tests after marriage	Test average before	Test average after	ODIs before marriage	ODIs after marriage	ODI average before	ODI average after
2013	9	12	32.50	40.85	17	45	46.72	29.86

#4 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma with his wife Ritika Sajdeh (Photo credits: ABP news)

Having made his debut back in 2007 in the T-20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma has cemented his place in the team due to his magnificent batting performances. He holds the record of being the only batsman to have scored two double-centuries in ODI cricket.

He has played 153 ODIs and has amassed 5131 runs at an average of 41.37 with 29 half-centuries and 10 centuries to his name.

In April 2015, Sharma got engaged to his childhood friend Ritika Sajdeh. They tied the knot on 13 December 2015. His average has been better after marriage but this might be down to the fact that he has not played too many matches after marriage.

Year of Marriage	Tests before marriage	Tests after marriage	Test average before	Test average after	ODIs before marriage	ODIs after marriage	ODI average before	ODI average after
2013	16	5	33.18	57.60	143	10	39.71	62.66

#3 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane and Radhika Dhopavkar (Photo credits: Youthgiri.in)

Known for his elegant shot making, Ajinkya Rahane has been a joy to watch ever since he made his debut back in 2011. Although he has had sort of a slump in the recently concluded Test series in England, he continues to be one of the best Test batsmen for India in the current scenario.

He has featured in 32 Tests for India and has scored 2272 runs at an average of 47.33. However, he would look to improve on his ODI and T-20 average in the coming years.

He got married to Radhika Dhopavkar on 26 September 2014 and as we can see, Rahane’s average significantly improved after marriage.

Year of Marriage	Tests before marriage	Tests after marriage	Test average before	Test average after	ODIs before marriage	ODIs after marriage	ODI average before	ODI average after
2014	10	19	39.88	58.88	34	38	27.82	37.94

#2 Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara and his wife (Photo credits: Pinterest.com)

In the form of Cheteshwar Pujara, it looks like the Indian cricket team might finally have found their replacement for the legend Rahul Dravid at the no. 3 position in the Test team. Rock solid in defense, Pujara has been the best batsman for India after Virat Kohli this year.

Since his debut in 2010 against Australia at Bangalore, Pujara has played in 49 Tests for India and has scored 3240 runs at an average of 49.84 with 10 centuries and 11 half-centuries to his name.

He married Puja Pabari in Rajkot on 13 February 2013. Since his marriage, his Test average dropped significantly but he still continues to perform well and remains one of the integral members of the squad.

Year of Marriage	Tests before marriage	Tests after marriage	Test average before	Test average after	ODIs before marriage	ODIs after marriage	ODI average before	ODI average after
2014	15	23	65.50	40.65	2	3	6.50	12.66

#1 MS Dhoni

Dhoni and Sakshi have been married for 6 years now

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has arguably been India’s best captain ever. Since his debut back in 2004, he has set the stage on fire with his performances and his captaincy. He made his captaincy debut in the 2007 World T-20 in South Africa and has taken India to great heights since then. Under him, the Indian cricket team have won two World Cups and one Champions Trophy.

He has played 90 Tests and 283 One Day Internationals for India and has scored 13996 runs combined in both the formats with an average of 50.89 in the shorter format. While he retired from Tests in 2014 and handed over the captaincy to Virat Kohli, he continues to captain the ODI and T20 side.

As we all know, he married the love of his life Sakshi Singh back in July 2010. Since his marriage, his Test batting average dropped but his ODI average remained quite the same.

Year of Marriage	Tests before marriage	Tests after marriage	Test average before	Test average after	ODIs before marriage	ODIs after marriage	ODI average before	ODI average after
2010	43	47	42.59	34.47	166	117	51.31	50.24