Dhoni weds Sakshi Rawat in presence of teammates, friends

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni tied the nuptial knot with childhood friend Sakshi Singh Rawat on Sunday night in a private ceremony attended only by family members and close friends, including a few of his teammates, at a farmhouse here.

The 28-year-old wicket-keeper batsman got engaged to Sakshi, a 23-year-old hotel management student, at a private ceremony on Saturday night.

The wedding at the picturesque Vishranti Resorts at Bidhauli, about 25km from here, was strictly a private affair with only 50-60 close relatives from both the families of the bride and the groom, along with few of Dhoni's India teammates, attending.

Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma were among Dhoni's cricketer friends who were present at the wedding, according to a family member who attended the ceremony.

BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan (who also owns the Chennai Super Kings) was present at the ceremony.

The wedding at the luxury resort had its share of glamour as Dhoni's friend John Abraham and director-choreographer Farah Khan gracing the occasion.

The marriage rituals commenced at around 8 pm when Dhoni on a horseback and the groom's party walked for around half a kilometer to the bride's place, located at the same resort premises.

Dhoni wore a black 'sherwani' while Sakshi was dressed up in white 'churidar-pyjama'

Tight security was thrown around the resort. The media was practically kept out of bounds and they had to station themselves at a 1 km distance from the main gate of the sprawling resort and the news relating to the wedding ceremony inside came out in trickles.

Even the select guests who attended the wedding ceremony were seen being brought into the resort in four vehicles kept for the purpose.

A top police official said that Dhoni arrived early this morning at the farmhouse, where adequate police force has been deployed.

"We have been requested by the family members that the wedding should be totally a private affair," said the police official.