Indian cricketer KL Rahul does not feature in the squads for the ODIs and T20Is versus the touring New Zealand side. The series begins on January 18 with ODIs in Hyderabad. The reports are floating around that Rahul is set to get married to his long-time girlfriend Athiya Shetty in Khandala in Maharashtra on January 23. BCCI press release that announced the squad did not mention about Rahul’s marriage but read that the cricketer is not part of the squads due to family commitments. “KL Rahul & Axar Patel were unavailable for the New Zealand Home series due to family commitments,” read the BCCI release which announced the squads late on Friday night. 

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This wedding has been hugely awaited in both the worlds of bollywood and cricket. After Virat Kohli married Anushka Sharma, this is the second time that a bollywood actress will be getting hitched to a an Indian cricketer in recent times. Athiya’s father Suniel Shetty had said last year: “She is my daughter, she will get married sometime. I would want my son to also get married, the sooner the better. It’s their choice. As far as KL Rahul is concerned, I love the boy. And it is for them to decide what they want to do because times have changed.”

As per reports Kl Rahul & Athiya Shetty’s marriage will take place from jan 21 to jan 23
So KL Rahul is also going to miss series vs New zealand pic.twitter.com/rpm02EhLHK

— KLBiswa (@KLBiswa) January 6, 2023

The reports say that KL Rahul and Athiya Shetty met each other through common friends. However, there is no official confirmation about the same. On the special occasion of Athiya Shetty’s birthday last year, KL Rahul finally made their relationship Instagram official. KL Rahul took to social media to share mushy photos of the two alongside a short yet romantic caption.

Since then, Athiya has been travelling with Rahul on tours abroad. She has even endorsed some brands together with her husband to-be Rahul. Rahul will return to international cricket when Australia comes to India for the Test series.