5 Indian cricketers who started their international career after marriage

The age of debut in India has been decreasing steadily and we are slowly seeing teenagers wearing the blue shirt very early in their careers. Although talent and age are less relative in the game of cricket, the Indian team has traditionally given debuts to players in their early twenties.

In most of the cases, many players have started their international careers as bachelors and got married later. However, in some cases, a few cricketers have played their first match for India after their marriage. This case is a rare occurrence in Indian cricket and lady-luck has truly worked for these talented players.

On that note, we have compiled a list of 5 cricketers who have made their debut for India after entering the wedlock.

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Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu can be considered as one of the most unlucky cricketers born in this generation. He has had opportunities difficult to come by and that has affected his consistent presence in the national team.

However, after a stupendous IPL 2018, Ambati Rayudu is back in the Indian squad and will be the main contender to bat at No.4 spot for the World Cup scheduled in 2019.

Ambati Rayudu married his college friend Chennupalli Vidya in 2009 which was four years before his first match for India. He made his debut on 24th July 2013 against Zimbabwe and the Guntur-born cricketer has been in and out of the national setup since then.

Ambati Rayudu was initially a part of the now defunct Indian Cricket League before he was picked up by Mumbai Indians to play in the Indian Premier League. Having been a part of the franchise for over seven years, Rayudu then moved to the Chennai Super Kings in 2018.

Rayudu has now quit his first-class career to focus on the commitments with the Indian ODI team. He is a part of this rare list of cricketers who have made their debut for India after getting married.

Stuart Binny

Stuart Binny got married to Mayanti Langer a few years before his India debut

Stuart Binny made his debut for India in January 2014 and was a part of the international setup for sometime before he lost his form. He is currently a part of the Rajasthan Royals squad in IPL and plays for Karnataka in the domestic circuit.

Stuart Binny got married to the popular host Mayanti Langer in 2012 and two years later, he made his debut for India. Binny and Mayanti are a popular couple in the Indian Cricket circles and lady luck has definitely helped Binny go ahead in his career.

However, Stuart Binny is in the difficult stage of his career where he has been dropped by the Karnataka team too in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. He needs to restrategize his approach to his game and the upcoming IPL season with Rajasthan Royals would be a good opportunity for him to get back to form.

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav made his India debut in 2014

Kedar Jadhav got married to Snehal Jadhav on 25th June 2011 which was three years before Kedar played his first match for India against Sri Lanka in 2014. Hence, Kedar also makes it to the list of non-bachelor debutantes for India.

Jadhav came into the limelight after impressive performances for Maharastra in the Ranji Trophy and for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League. Kedar Jadhav can also do the job behind the wickets if needed and has been a more than decent bowling option for Virat Kohli in the limited-overs format.

However, Jadhav has been injury-prone in recent times and needs to keep himself fit if he has to make it the World Cup squad next year. He missed the IPL last season after the first match and he must make it count in the upcoming season with CSK to cement his spot in the Indian team.

Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya has made inroads into the Indian team this year

Krunal Pandya is one cricketer who has had to wait a long time to start playing for the Indian Cricket Team. Despite two excellent seasons with the Mumbai Indians in IPL and some good performances for the India A team and Baroda in Ranji Trophy, the elder Pandya could not wear the India jersey until November this year.

The major reason for this was due to the presence of other cricketers with similar attributes such as Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. However, Krunal Pandya has made his debut for India and even got to play the T20I series in Australia. Albeit, a spot in the World Cup squad next year is unlikely, Krunal would look to target a spot in the squad for the T20 World Cup in 2020.

Krunal married his girlfriend Pankhuri Sharma in December last year and hence, Krunal also makes it to this list.

Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal got hitched earlier this year

Mayank Agarwal is the latest addition to this rare list of cricketers. The talented Karnataka player made his dream debut for India against Australia in the Boxing Day Test match at MCG in 2018. It had been a long-awaited debut for him and the 27-year-old responded by producing crucial scores in both the innings of the Test match.

Mayank had married his long-time girlfriend Aashitha Sood soon after the IPL in 2018 and hence, he makes it to the list of married-debutantes for the Indian cricket team.

Mayank has just started his career and a lot would be expected of him in the upcoming games. He would mostly be a part of the Test squads for the upcoming tournaments and he will also be expected to make his limited overs debut sometime next year.