Regardless of whether you’re expressive or not, the calendar turning to 14 February tends to bring out the romantic in most – members of the Indian cricket team included.
And so, from the very publicly affectionate Virat Kohli, to the usually reserved Cheteshwar Pujara, leading Indian cricketers took to their social media streams to celebrate their respective loves on the occasion of Valentine’s Day on Thursday, 14 February.
Here’s how Team India – otherwise so besotted with the packed cricket calendar – took time out for their special ones on the ‘Day of Love’:
The Indian captain, enjoying a well-deserved break from the game, spent Valentine’s Eve – 13 February, that is – having a ‘great meal’ at a fine-dining restaurant in New Delhi along with wife and Bollywood star Anushka Sharma.
For Rohit Sharma, who deputised as captain in Kohli’s absence in New Zealand, this Valentine’s was all-the-more special owing to the priceless addition of his daughter, Samaira, who was born earlier this year.
Having only returned from his touring duties earlier this week, India’s star limited overs opener didn’t share any pictures with wife Ritika Sajdeh, but did post a message of love on Twitter.
His opening partner in the India ODI and T20I setup, Shikhar Dhawan, did have a photo to share of him with wife Aesha, even as he exclaimed his love “sets my heart on fire”.
India’s Test match star, Cheteshwar Pujara, marked this Valentine’s Day with two accomplishment – Cheteshwar and wife Puja celebrated their sixth marriage anniversary on Wednesday, 13 February, and marked the occasion by appearing in a life insurance commercial where they recounted their love story.
Fellow Test match specialists Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Viihari were away on domestic duty, with the duo featuring in the Rest of India lineup taking on Vidarbha in the Irani Trophy, but both took time out to post a message for their respective partners.
All-rounder Krunal Pandya, who was part of the Indian T20I team which narrowly went down to New Zealand, also joined in the festivities.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)