Shoaib Malik weds Sania Mirza finally

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan’s former cricket captain Shoaib Malik finally tied the knot with Indian tennis star Sania Mirza married on April 12 in the latter’s hometown of Hyderabad, the capital of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Both of them are now expected to be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid reports that they would continue to represent their countries in their respective sports.

The marriage between two of the leading sports personalities has been covered widely by the media and even the reputed British newspapers like The Guardian, The Independent and the Evening Standard have reported the event in-depth.

There were huge controversies before the marriage and yet another one has rocked them right away.

It has been reported that Shoaib has paid Indian Rupees 6,100,000 as mehr which is the gift given by the groom to his bride at the time of marriage, a prerequisite for a Muslim marriage. The gift can be given in the form of cash or gold or other form of wealth and is aimed at giving a financial security to the wife in the case of divorce or death of the man.

According to the reports it’s not the huge sum of money that has been questioned but it’s actually the massive difference between the one he paid to his earlier wife has caused some concerns.

The fact has been brought to light that Shoaib had paid a meagre Rs 500 mehr to Ayesha Siddiqui, whom he divorced recently, while Sania Mirza got a grand price.

Shaoib was reported to have married Ayesha in 2002 over a telephonic nikah but later claimed that she was not the girl he fell in love with as the photographs sent to him online were that of another girl.

The prolific Pakistan all-rounder, however, finally confessed having married Ayesha and divorced her just a few days before his marriage. He is believed to have agreed to pay Indian Rupees 15,000 rupees as maintenance to Ayesha for a span of three months, which broke down to 5,000 rupees per month.

His marriage plans with Sania had been jeopardized when Ayesha, another Indian woman, had lodged a complaint, claiming that Shoaib married her in June 2002 and accused him of subjecting her to cruelty and harassment by denying that the wedding took place and by trying to marry another woman.

Ayesha’s family, however, withdrew the police complaint after some elders brokered a divorce between the pair and cleared the way for the wedding with Sania.

The much talked about marriage between Shoaib and Sania has taken place finally and their future life will be watched with interest as well.

It remains to be seen in particular how Sania would be able to extend her career as a tennis star. She has been acclaimed as the queen of Indian tennis for quite sometime. Will she manage to regain her fitness and continue representing India in future is a question in everyone’s mind?

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Pakistan’s cricket star set to marry India’s tennis queen

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The announcement of retirement from international cricket by former captain and a batting great, Mohammad Yousuf, was not the ‘only’ headline news to be broadcast by the Pakistani television channels on March 29.

I don’t think Yousuf even had left the premises of the Karachi Press Club (KPC), where he had formally announced his retirement during Meet the Press programme, when the news about the wedding of Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza broke out.

So there were two former Pakistan cricket captains, not one, having hit the headlines on the same day. Yousuf and Shoaib may not be enjoying the most cordial of relations of late but I am sure they would have followed each other’s developments during the day with considerable interest.

While there was not much element of surprise in Yousuf’s decision of calling it a day, for it had become all too obvious by the time he announced his retirement formally, but the ‘news’ of Shoaib planning to tie the knot with Sania came as a surprise.

As the television channels started ‘hunting’ for the ‘credible’ sources to verify the ‘breaking news’ the sports communities in both the countries across the border became more engrossed in this unexpected and unlikely event.

The news was finally confirmed to the media by Sania’s father Imran Mirza later in the evening. A formal wedding reception has been scheduled within a month but there were no plans for an engagement function.

“The couple will be based in Dubai, where Shoaib is a resident, and Sania will continue to play tennis once she recovers fully from the wrist injury that has marred her career in the recent past,” Imran was quoted as saying.

“My wedding is, Insha Allah, going to be the biggest day of my life. I have been under constant glare of the public for too long and would appreciate more privacy at this very personal moment in my life,” Sania said.

“I hope to be fully fit to represent India in the Commonwealth and Asian Games that are scheduled for later this year,” she added.

Sania plans to continue playing tennis for India while Shoaib will obviously be representing Pakistan and this indeed could be a unique case where the husband and wife will represent their respective countries in sport.

Shoaib is understood to be fully supportive of Sania’s tennis career. “I fully understand what it takes to be an international sportsperson and I will support Sania in her career as long as she wishes to play,” he was reported to have said.

“Representing India, at the 2012 Olympics is very important for her and I will be the proudest husband if she can win a medal for her country,” the former Pakistan captain added.

Shoaib had formerly been engaged to another Indian, Ayesha Siddiqui, who claims to be married to the charismatic Pakistani all-rounder. According to reports Ayesha’s father has tried to threaten Shoaib to give Ayesha divorce before proceeding any further.

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