Irfan to marry long-time friend Shivangi

Vadodara:

Indian pace star Irfan Pathan has decided to tie the nuptial knot with his long-time friend Shivangi Dev, a chartered accountant working in Australia.

Irfan, 24, met Shivangi, 22, in Canberra in 2003 when the Indian team was touring Australia and proposed to her when she was on a visit here three years back.

Shivangi, daughter of a diplomat now posted in Spain, promptly said "yes" when Irfan asked whether she will marry him, Irfan's father Mehbubkhan Pathan said.

"Miya bibi razi to kya karega Kazi" (if the boy and the girl are ready to tie the knot, what can anyone do), he said quickly adding the family has no objection to the marriage.

But Irfan will have to wait for some time as the family is looking for a suitable for his elder brother and team mate Yusuf Pathan, says his father.

"We are in search for a good girl for Yusuf and after his marriage, Irfan's turn will come," he said. Irfan's mother Shamim Banoo is impressed with the simplicity and good nature of Shivangi, who also runs a dancing school in Canberra.

A sprawling bungalow is being readied for Irfan in the posh Tandaja locality on the outskirts of the city, close to where the family is staying in a duplex house. The new house will have a 'cricket room'.