Teammates in Love

In their first fashion shoot together for a magazine cover, cricketer Ajinkya Rahane and wife Radhika show us a simpler form of love

- Arman Khan

I'd always maintained that the game and country come first. Not once have I skipped even a practice session for my family. But, spending the seven months during the pandemic with Aarya (the couple's two-year-old daughter) made me a happier, more confident person. -Ajinkya Rahane, 33, cricketer

He'd maintained this from the beginning-cricket comes first. And I respected him for it. For me, my family and my mental and physical health take priority Radhika Rahane, 30, homemaker

For the longest time, Ajinkya Rahane was just another cricketer to his now-wife, Radhika Rahane. Their dates were few and far between, limited to the nondescript cafés of the Mulund suburb in Mumbai.

The first time we went on a proper date was the year 2007, says Radhika. Ajinkya remembers the date-the 29th-but not the month. I had no interest in cricket; he was just a friend in the society we lived in, says Radhika.

The 33-year-old batsman cannot recall the moment that he realised he was in love with her-if there even was such a moment. “More than anything, it was her sheer simplicity that I gravitated towards,” Ajinkya says. “The way she understood my family and my dreams. That was all that I needed.

But for Radhika, the road to truly embracing Ajinkya's world would be a long, often arduous one. He'd maintained this from the beginning cricket comes first, she says. “And I respected him for it. For me, my family and my mental and physical health take priority.