Ajit Agarkar, the former Indian cricketer, found love and eventually married Fatima Ghadially, a Muslim woman, despite facing opposition from both families due to their religious differences. Their relationship started when Agarkar met Fatima, the sister of his friend, a year after his international cricket debut in 1998. After a period of resistance from their families, the couple persevered and got married in 2002. Fatima is about two years older than Ajit. They have been married for 23 years and share a son.
Their meeting was facilitated through Fatima’s brother, a friend of Agarkar. Fatima, then a management consultant, would accompany her brother to cricket matches. Their relationship developed over three years of dating.
The initial opposition stemmed from the fact that Ajit Agarkar is a Marathi Brahmin and Fatima is Muslim. They eventually convinced their families to accept their relationship and married on February 9, 2002. Ajit Agarkar played a crucial role in India’s victory at the 2007 T20I World Cup.
Agarkar’s cricketing career is marked by his all-round abilities. He played 26 Test matches and secured 58 wickets, along with scoring 571 runs, including a century. In 191 ODIs, he took 288 wickets, while also scoring 1269 runs with the help of three half-centuries. In T20Is, he picked up 3 wickets in 4 matches.