Dehradun:Stylist Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Sunday night began a new innings in his life as he tied the knot with childhood friend and hotel management student Sakshi Singh Rawat at a private ceremony in a lush farmhouse, about 40 km from here.
The wedding was strictly a private affair though hordes of mediapersons waited outside the venue to capture the entry of visiting guests and the mood. The ceremony was attended by close friends and some teammates.
Dhoni was wearing a black sherwani, reports said.
The engagement had taken place at another venue in Dehradun on Saturday and the wedding reception is slated for July 7 at Mumbai, when Dhoni, popularly known by his nickname Mahi, celebrates his 29th birthday.
The wedding though private affair had it share of glitz and star power, with guests ranging from Bollywood stars to cricketing big-shots blessing the couple.
Dhoni’s close friend and actor John Abraham is reported to be here for the wedding.
The national cricket team’s captain’s teammates Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra had arrived for the engagement itself, reports said.
Other teammates, including Suresh Raina and RP Singh, were expected to attend the wedding ceremony.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar is also on the guests’ list.
However, Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, among others, will not be able to attend the wedding.
Dhoni’s weddingt to 23-year-old Sakshi, a hotel management student who was working in Kolkata’s Taj Bengal Hotel, was originally scheduled for October. However, the busy cricketing schedule for Dhoni led to preponement of the wedding date.
Dhoni, who hails from Ranchi, and his bride Sakshi, a native of Aurangabad, were school friends at DAV, Shamily in Ranchi.
Their fathers worked for the same company, though Sakshi’s family moved to Dehradun after her father’s retirement.
Dhoni’s family sources said it was an arranged marriage and though the couple had known each other, there was no romantic link-up.
Media reports said they fell in love in 2007. Dhoni was earlier linked with several Bollywood stars.
Dhoni had made his international debut against Bangladesh in December 2004 and has so far played 43 Tests, 166 ODIs and 25 T20s.
Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Cup Twenty20, CB Series of 2007-08 and the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008.
He also captained Chennai Super Kings to victory in this year's Indian Premier League.
He is captain of the Indian team in all three forms of the game – test, ODI and T20.
Under his leadership, India attained the number one status in Test cricket and number two this year in ODI rankings.
He is also the recipient of ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first Indian to achieve this feat).
He was bestowed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009.