Team India men’s current head coach Rahul Dravid turns 50 today, on January 11, 2023, Wednesday.
Formerly the head of the NCA and coach of the Under-19 and India A teams, Dravid had taken over the duties from Ravi Shastri in November 2021.
Dravid’s tenure so far hasn’t been as ideal as he and the Indian fans would have hoped for: India failed to reach the finals of the Asia Cup, T20 World Cup 2022, lost the Test and ODI series in South Africa, lost ODI series in Bangladesh, and lost the Edgbaston Test vs England.
On the positive note: India won all their home bilateral series, plus white-ball series win in England, and Test series win in Bangladesh.
This new year brings loads of opportunities for Dravid and Team India to make this their winning year with the WTC final potentially at sight, and a home ODI World Cup.
As we speak of Rahul Dravid on the Golden Jubilee of his birth anniversary, we should also speak of his best partnership – with wife Vijeta Pendharkar.
Here are some interesting bits of the love story of Rahul Dravid and Vijeta Pendharkar:
Born three years younger to Rahul, Vijeta Pendharkar is a daughter of a retired Wing Commander, while her mother is a dietician. After Vijeta’s father’s retirement, the family settled in Nagpur, where Vijeta studied to become a Medical Surgeon (General) in 2002.
How did Rahul Dravid and his wife meet?
The Dravids and the Pendharkars have known each other for a long time. The Pendharkar family stayed in Bangalore between 1968 and 1971, and that is when the friendship between the two families had begun. Rahul’s father, Sharad, worked in Nagpur for a while and that is when the young Rahul and Vijeta had become good friends.
Rahul would visit Nagpur whenever he got a chance. As the two got closer, their families understood their affection for each other, and in a quick time, they were engaged to each other. A wedding date was fixed and soon both were married.
Despite Rahul’s private and subdued nature, it was his profession as an Indian cricketer that always had him in the spotlight. But Vijeta was new to this spotlight and wasn’t really comfortable initially.
In a conversation with Rediff.com, Vijeta’s mother Jayshree said, “We don’t want to gain too much publicity. I am not sure Rahul’s family, especially Vijeta’s mother-in-law, would approve.”
Their wedding had initially been fixed for 2002, but since the World Cup was due in 2003 and Rahul was busy in practice, the families decided to wait for the marriage until it was over. Rahul and Vijeta had exchanged the rings before the series began and Vijeta had even accompanied her then-fiancé, Rahul to South Africa for the World Cup.
Finally, in May 2003, the couple tied the knots and became husband-wife. It was a traditional Maharashtrian wedding that took place at the Border Security Force (BSF) Training Centre, Bangalore.
Vijeta’s mother Jayshree quipped: “Rahul is a thorough gentleman. Who wouldn’t want to have him as his son-in-law?” She sure did, and got the best son-in-law a mother could ask for.
The couple welcomed their first son, Samit, in 2005, and their second son, Anvay, in 2009.
