Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni tied the nuptial knot with childhood friend Sakshi Singh Rawat late on Sunday in a private ceremony attended only by family members and close friends, including a few of his team-mates, at a farmhouse here.
The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman got engaged to Sakshi, a 23-year-old hotel management student, at a private ceremony on Saturday night.
The wedding at the picturesque Vishranti Resorts at Bidhauli, about 25km from here, was strictly a private affair with only 50-60 close relatives and friends attending.
Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, R.P. Singh, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma were among Dhoni's cricketer friends who were present at the wedding, according to a family member who attended the ceremony.
Owner of Chennai Super Kings, which was skippered by Dhoni in the IPL, and BCCI Secretary N. Srinivasan was present at the ceremony.
BCCI president Shashank Manohar was also said to have attended the ceremony.
The wedding at the luxury resort had its share of glamour with Dhoni's friend John Abraham and director-choreographer Farah Khan gracing the occasion.
The marriage rituals began around 8 p.m. when Dhoni, on horseback, and the groom's party walked for around half a kilometre to the bride's place, located on the resort's premises.
Dhoni wore a black ‘sherwani' while Sakshi was dressed up in a white ‘churidar-pyjama'
There was tight security around the resort. The media was practically kept out of bounds and they had to station themselves 1 km from the main gate of the sprawling resort; the news relating to the wedding ceremony inside came out in trickles.
Even the select guests who attended the wedding ceremony were seen being brought into the resort in four vehicles kept for the purpose.
A top police official told PTI that Dhoni arrived early on Sunday at the farmhouse.
“We have been requested by the family members that the wedding should be a private affair,” he said.
Although family sources had indicated after the engagement that the marriage would take place in October, India's tight schedule in the next few months might have prompted the advancement.
