This is how 'romantic' Ishant Sharma proposed to Pratima Singh!

New Delhi: Keeping in tune with the current trend of Indian cricketers losing their single status, pacer Ishant Sharma got engaged with basketball player Pratima Singh.

The Delhi lad is among the more reserved members of the Indian team, never in the news for controversial reasons other than the occasional incident on the field.

Unlike his more flamboyant teammates like Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, Ishant's personal life has been quite low key throughout his career.

Hence the news of his engagement came as a surprise.

His fiancée however revealed another side of Ishant that fans hardly knew about. Speaking to the Times of India, Pratima termed the lanky pacer as one of the most romantic guys in the world. She also shed light on how he eventually proposed to her.

"He's the most decent guy around and extremely caring. We have been dating for quite a few years and I feel he's the best guy in the world. Oh, he's the most romantic guy in the world. But only I'm privy to that aspect of his personality. He proposed to me in a car with roses and gifts."

Interestingly, India's women's basketball team captain Akanksha Singh (Pratima's elder sister) helped fix the match between the duo.

"Ishant met my sister three years ago when my friend and I had organized a basketball tournament for women players in Delhi. Ishant had come along with my friend. We are five siblings (four sisters and one brother) and extremely close. So, when Ishant asked her out for the first time, Pratima, who is the innocent darling of the house, came running to me to ask if it was alright. Ishant is a a decent guy so I gave a go ahead because I trusted him. I'm glad that they are going to tie the knot. It will be a December wedding, though the date hasn't been finalised yet," Akanksha told TOI.

Like most international athletes, Ishant too spends very little time at home due to is hectic travel plan. Pratima however is prepared to deal with everything, including insecurity, that comes with marrying an Indian cricketer.

"When he has such a pretty wife sitting at home, why would he look at anyone else? Jokes apart, I'm a sportsperson too, so I understand that travelling is a part of the game. Since I'm working as a sports advisor in a Noida school and have my tourneys too, I won't be able to travel much with him and Ishant knows it," she further added.

Under Virat Kohli's Test captaincy, Ishant has really blossomed. This was observed when he played a key role in India's famous Test series win over Sri Lanka last year.

Ishant's next goal will be to make a comeback to the limited-overs teams.