Yusuf Pathan is best known for his distinct front-foot style batting, especially in the fast-paced Twenty20 style of Cricket. The younger brother of the popular cricketer Irfan Pathan, Yusuf began his first-class international cricket career in 2007 with a stellar performance in the first Twenty20 World Cup. He then went on to become a permanent member of the Indian cricketing squad, and is known for his good batting prowess and opportunistic fielding skills. In real life as well, Yusuf has been a sort of opportunistic, and found his wife Afreen Khan to be the ideal woman right at the moment he saw her. So what is their story? We take a closer look at Yusuf Pathan’s marriage to Afreen and the sequence of events that bought them both together.

Yusuf Pathan – The Rise Of The Swashbuckling Cricketer

Yusuf Pathan was born in Baroda, Gujarat on 17th November, 1982. Just like his elder brother Irfan, Yusuf took an interest in cricket right at an early age. The pair would often play cricket together, which eventually cemented their love for the sport. In 2001, he made his début in domestic cricket, four years after his elder brother did so. It was his performance in the domestic circuit in 2007 that captured the attention of the board of selectors, who selected him for the Indian cricket team for ICC’s first Twenty20 World Cup. Since then, he has been repeatedly selected for the Indian side for various cricket formats making him one of the leading players in the Indian cricket scene.

Meeting Ms. Afreen Khan

It was somewhere around the year 2011 when Yusuf Pathan was looking for a physiotherapist to help him with his fitness when he was at home in Baroda. Through the course of his search for the right one, he stumbled upon a certain Mumbai-born Physiotherapist called Afreen Khan, who was practising in Baroda. Yusuf happened to meet the pretty Afreen Khan, and needless to say, he fell in love with her at the first sight. Since he had plans for marriage anyway, he considered Afreen to be an ideal woman. Apparently, this is how the pair met for the first time, and we are guessing that the two may have hit if off immediately. They then shared their intentions with their parents. It was as if Yusuf and Afreen were made for each other, and it was later learnt that the two happened to be neighbours in Baroda at some point in time. Since the match looked favourable, Yusuf and Afreen’s respective families gave permission to the wedlock and the preparations for the same were initiated in full swing.

Engagement, Wedding And The Grand Reception

The couple decided to have an engagement first, which was at a private ceremony held at the Pathan family’s farmhouse at the outskirts of Baroda, in March 2012. It was a private event, where only key members of each family were invited, and the entire event is said to have lasted just few hours. The families decided to have a wedlock a year later in March 2013, and congregated for the same in Mumbai. It was a traditional nikaah ceremony, which included almost all the family members from both the sides. It was followed by a reception in Mumbai, mostly for family members from Afreen’s side.

The newly-wed couple then returned back to Baroda, where the Pathan family threw a grand reception at the illustrious garden lawn of the Laxmi Vilas Palace. Interestingly, this is the same place where Yusuf’s elder brother Irfan had his wedding reception in 2016. Yusuf and Afreen’s wedding reception was attended by who’s who of the celebrity world, which included the Kolkata Knight Riders co-owners Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta. The reception was also attended by several cricketers, with Gautam Gambhir, R.P. Singh, and former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin in attendance. There was a tight security at the venue, and it is said the couple invited just 400 guests for the event. Yusuf and Afreen looked dashing on the stage, with Yusuf decked in an off-white sherwani, while Afreen was dressed in a lovely pink salwar kameez. It was surely a happy day for the couple, and Yusuf definitely seemed delighted.

Life Thereafter

The couple was blessed with a baby boy, Ayaan, on 17th April, 2014, when Yusuf was away playing for Indian Premier League (IPL). It is said that Yusuf was unable to visit Baroda to see his newborn due to cricket commitments. When Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shahrukh Khan learnt this, he insisted that Yusuf visit his wife and newborn, and it is then that Yusuf took some time off from IPL. No wonder Shahrukh later bonded well with the little Ayaan, and even shared some images of him with the little one on social media.

We wish Yusuf, Afreen and the adorable Ayaan all the very best.

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