Shoaib, Sania in cross-border match

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik and Indian tennis queen Sania Mirza, two of South Asia’s best known sports personalities, are to marry in April, the players said on Tuesday.

Mirza, who has a recurring wrist injury that has affected her game, said she would continue to play after the wedding. “I’m very happy, we’re all very happy,” Mirza told reporters in her home town of Hyderabad. “It’s still a few days away or a few weeks away.”

Malik, an all-rounder who captained Pakistan between 2007 and 2009, told television channels in Pakistan: “We both are also happy and it’s happening next month”. The couple will settle in Dubai after their marriage, Mirza said. “It will be a home away from home,” she said.

The 23-year-old was the first Indian to win a WTA tour event in 2005 and reached her highest world ranking of 27 two years ago although she has since slipped to 92nd.

Malik, 28, has been fighting a 12-month ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board for poor performance and indiscipline. Marriages between citizens of the rival nations are not entirely uncommon, with Muslim families who migrated to Pakistan after the nation was carved out in 1947 maintaining ties with families who remained in India.

Earlier, Sania flew into New Delhi on a brief visit to get her visa to Pakistan where a post-wedding reception is scheduled in April. Accompanied by her mother, the Sania, went to the Pakistan High Commission and completed the formalities.

“We have got the visa. We are happy. Now that we have got the visa, we will be travelling to Pakistan”, her mother Nasima Mirza told reporters. Nasima said the family was very happy with Sania’s decision. “We are very happy about her decision. We are all with her and Inshaallah we wish all the best to her,” she said.

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

While the marriage is likely to be held on April 11 or 12 in Hyderabad, the ‘Valima’ or reception is expected to be held in Lahore on April 16 or 17. In Islamabad, six members of Shoaib Malik’s family have applied for visas to travel to India for the former Pakistan’s captain’s wedding to Sania Mirza.

“Six members of the Malik family have applied for visas but Shoaib himself hasn’t submitted his application so far. But he is expected to do it soon,” official sources said.

The applications were submitted by Shoaib’s uncle Zafar Malik.

Sources also confirmed that Shoaib’s mother was granted visa to travel to India last month. It is speculated that Shoaib’s mother made the marriage proposal to the Mirza family during the trip.
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Shoaib Malik to wed Sania Mirza

Tuesday, 30 Mar, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik is set to marry Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, a union of two of South Asia’s most well known sports personalities.

The marriage is sure to attract attention because neighbouring Pakistan and India are longtime rivals, and have fought three wars since 1947.

“The news of me marrying to Sania is true,” Malik posted on Twitter on Tuesday. “Inshallah (God willing) will get married in April.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board has fined and banned Malik for one year for unspecified disciplinary reasons following heavy defeats in both test and limited-overs series against Australia earlier this year.

The 23-year-old Mirza ended a previous engagement to childhood friend Sohrab Mirza in January, citing incompatibility.

She issued a statement Tuesday confirming the marriage plan, but asking for privacy.

“My wedding Inshallah is going to be the biggest day of my life,” she said. “I have been in the media glare for too long and would appreciate a little privacy at this very personal moment in my life.”

Her father, Imran Mirza, said both Sania and Malik will be based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, but continue to represent their countries in their respective sports.

“This is a unique case where husband and wife will represent their respective countries in sport,” he said in a statement issued in Hyderabad, India, where the family lives.

A local television reported that Mirza, her parents and sister, had applied for a visa at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday and were expected to be issued with a visa of three weeks in duration and valid for 60 days.

Mirza, a two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, became the first Indian woman to crack the top 40 in the international tennis rankings, reaching a career high of No. 27 in August 2007. At one time, the Muslim player was assailed by conservative elements of the Indian community for competing in short skirts and sleeveless shirts. She has not advanced beyond the first round in her last four tournaments and withdrew from tournaments in Malaysia and the United States in recent weeks due to a wrist injury. She is currently No. 92 in the rankings.

Malik, 28, was at the centre of marriage controversy five years ago when he was reportedly broke an engagement with Ayesha Siddiqui, who was from Mirza’s hometown in India.

The two had reportedly developed friendship on the internet and Siddiqui’s father had even threatened to take Malik to court.

Malik has denied any serious relationship with Siddique.

The dashing cricketer was also linked with Indian actress Siali Bhagat, and there were reports of the two meeting confidentially in 2008.

News of the Malik-Mirza engagement spread quickly on Tuesday.

It’s not the first time that a Pakistani cricketer will be married to a high-profile Indian woman.

Former test batsman Mohsin Khan, now the national chief selector, married Indian actress Reena Roy in the 1980s. The marriage later broke down.

Newspapers reported that Malik first met Mirza at Hobart, Australia in January, when the Pakistan squad was on tour and Mirza was in the city for a tennis tournament.

“It was after this meeting that Mirza’s engagement with his childhood friend broke,” a local Urdu daily reported.

Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India grew more tense after a terrorist attack in the Indian film and financial hub of Mumbai in November, 2008. As a result, the Indian cricket team postponed its scheduled test tour to Pakistan due to security concerns.

The Pakistan government refused permission for its players to join the second edition of the Indian Premier League last year before the lucrative Indian domestic league was moved to South Africa.

Sporting relations deteriorated further when no Pakistani cricketers were picked up by Indian clubs in this year’s auction for the IPL.

Malik played for Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural edition of IPL in 2008.

He played 29 test matches for Pakistan and scored 1,517 runs at an average of 36.11. In 190 one-day internationals he has scored 5,141 runs at an average of 34.50 and also took 132 wickets with his off-spin bowling.

Malik lost the captaincy of the national team after Pakistan lost a limited-overs series to Sri Lanka at home last year. —AP