The star Chennai Super Kings batter Ruturaj Gaikwad tied the marriage knot with his long-time girlfriend Utkarsha Pawar on Saturday, June 3. The couple got married in a private ceremony in Mahabaleshwar with family and close friends in attendance. Gaikwad shared a few pictures of the ceremony on his Instagram page as fans poured congratulatory messages on the newly wedded couple.
After winning his second Indian Premier League title with CSK in the last three years, Gaikwad introduced his fiancee Utkarsha Pawar during the title-winning celebration at Narendra Modi Stadium on May 29. The couple clicked a few pictures with the IPL trophy and CSK skipper MS Dhoni but attracted fans and media attention.
Pune-born Utkarsha Pawar, 24, is a professional cricketer and plays for Maharashtra in domestic cricket. Gaikwad, also from Pune, posted a few pictures of the ceremony on his Instagram profile and wrote, "From the pitch to the altar, our journey begins!"
Gaikwad's teammate at CSK and Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube and his wife Anjum Khan attended the event in Mahabaleshwar. Chennai Super Kings shared a picture of their star performers of this season posing together with their partners on their official Twitter page.
Meanwhile, the CSK opener played a crucial role in his team winning the joint-record fifth IPL trophy. Gaikwad bagged the Orange Cap in IPL 2021 and was the leading run-getter for CSK in the 2022 edition. He carried out that form in IPL 2023 with 590 runs in just 15 innings at an average of 42.14 and a strike rate of 147.50, with four fifties.
Gaikwad was included in India's squad for the World Test Championship final (WTC) against Australia as a reserve opener. But his marriage date collided with India's preparation for the summit clash at The Oval starting on June 7. Gaikwad expressed his desire to join the team on June 5 but the management decided to replace the Maharashtra skipper with Yashasvi Jaiswal, who won the Emerging Player of the Season award in IPL 2023.
