India, June 5 -- Indian bowler Kuldeep Yadav got engaged to his childhood friend Vanshika in Lucknow on Wednesday.

The couple, who hail from Kanpur, exchanged rings in the presence of close family and friends. Among the guests were cricketer Rinku Singh and his to-be fiancee, MP Priya Saroj.

Kapil Pandey, Kuldeep's coach since 2004, tells us, "They have known each other since they were children but probably became closer after Kuldeep's U-19. Vanshika is a bright girl and was in Melbourne (Australia) for her higher studies." He also shares the tongue-in-cheek blessing for the couple with us: "In my aashirwad, I said, 'Yeh Chinaman (left-hand spinner) hai aur tum leg spin dalna aur phir googly daal kar bowled kar dena.'"

Kapil says the ...