Irfan to marry long-time friend Shivangi

Indian pace ace Irfan Pathan has decided to tie the knot with his long-time friend Shivangi Dev, a chartered accountant working in Australia.

Irfan, 24, met Shivangi, 22, in Canberra in 2003 when the Indian team was touring Australia and proposed to her when she was on a visit to Vadodara three years back.

Shivangi, daughter of a diplomat now posted in Spain, promptly said "yes" when Irfan asked whether she would marry him, Irfan's father Mehbubkhan Pathan said.

"Miya bibi razi to kya karega Kazi" (if the boy and the girl are ready to tie the knot, what can anyone do), he said, quickly adding the family has no objection to the marriage.

But Irfan will have to wait for some time as the family is looking for a suitable match for his elder brother and team mate Yusuf Pathan, said his father.

"We are in search of a good girl for Yusuf, and after his marriage, Irfan's turn will come," he said.

Irfan's mother Shamim Banoo is impressed with the simplicity and good nature of Shivangi, who also runs a dancing school in Canberra.

A sprawling bungalow is being readied for Irfan in the posh Tandaja locality on the outskirts of the city, close to where the family is staying in a duplex house. The new house will have a 'cricket room'.        Irfan has not found a place in the team touring the West Indies for four one-dayers while Yusuf made it after useful contributions with the bat and ball in the T-20 World Cup in London and IPL matches in South Africa.

As an all-rounder, Irfan has scored 1,105 runs and taken 100 wickets in 29 Test matches while he has hit 1,368 runs and taken 152 wickets in 107 ODIs.

In the 16 T20s he played, Irfan scored 133 runs and claimed 16 wickets.

"Irfan and Shivangi are made for each other," says Abid, a close friend of the cricketer.

"She was very shy and did not talk much" during their first meeting but later their comfort level gradually grew.

Their parents initially nursed some doubts but gave the nod yielding to persuasion by Irfan and Shivangi.

Mehbubkhan fondly recalls when he bought a cycle and gifted it to the two sons to ride to the cricket ground for practice sessions. Both of them were excited. The two brothers now own a Honda Accord, Scorpio and Maruti Swift.

The cricket room in their new house will be used for keeping their sports kits, photoframes and trophies. A hi-tech gym is also being planned to be set up in the premises.