Shoaib Malik to marry Sania Mirza

Err... good luck to them.


Pakistan's Malik to marry Indian tennis star
March 30, 2010 - 10:54PM

Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik and India's top female tennis player Sania Mirza plan to wed in a unique union bridging the two nations' bitter sporting and political divide.

"My wedding is going to be the biggest day of my life," Mirza said in a statement late Monday from her home town of Hyderabad, where she is recovering from a wrist injury that has seen her ranking slip from 27 in 2007 to 92.

The sporting marriage, seemingly unprecedented in the perennial rivalry between the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, comes two months after Mirza broke off her engagement to a childhood friend.

"I have been in the constant glare for too long and would appreciate the privacy at this very personal moment in my life," said the 23-year-old starlet, whose short skirts have drawn the ire of Islamist groups in India.

Mirza and Malik, 28, who are both Muslim, will marry in April and live in Dubai, members of the two families told local media.

Malik, a former national captain who is currently serving a year-long ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board due to indiscipline, confirmed the imminent nuptials.

"The news of me marrying Sania is true," the all-rounder was quoted by the Hindustan Times and other newspapers as saying. "Inshallah (God willing) we will get married in April.

"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 said he would be "the proudest husband" if Mirza won a medal at the 2012 Olympics, while the tennis player said she was targeting a return to fitness for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games late this year.

Mirza broke off her engagement to childhood friend Sohrab Mirza in January, saying "we were friends for years but found ourselves incompatible as fiances".

The tennis player became an instant nationwide celebrity as an 18-year-old when she became the first female Indian to win a WTA Tour title in 2005.

Malik, who hails from Sialkot in Pakistan's Punjab province, has played 29 Tests, 190 one-day internationals and 30 Twenty20 matches since his debut in 2001.

In a bizarre twist in 2002, he was accused by the family of another Hyderabad girl, Ayesha Siddiqui, of marrying her over the telephone. The cricketer denied it, but did admit to being engaged.

Ayesha's father threatened to sue Malik for leaving the girl without awarding her a divorce.

Both are having a tough time in their careers so may be a good match for now...

Shoaib Malik seems to do a lot better with girls than on the pitch(cricket pitch that is).

Is Malik attempting to alleviate government pressures between India and Pakistan?


Good on him for trying, I guess.

didnt he have problems with his previous wife (who he claims was not his wife)? an eye for hyderabadi girls it seems

good luck to both of them. they sure need it

With Malik not allowed to play for Pakistan he probably now has a choice to get the Indian citizenship and play for them.

will also NOT mind Sania playing for Pakistan in the fed cup.

you can keep her. she's been pretty poor for the last 2-3 years

from all accounts they will be living in dubai. they can hang out with flintoff and his wife

TBH i don't like either one...

malik has been an idiot for years, his previous episode with Indian chick is well know. Sania also acted like a typical b*tch by ditching her fiance for malik.

Does Lara Bingle know these people?

Good luck Sania Mirza.

Does have a train-wreck feel to it, doesn't it?

Cute.

Skully, why are you posting at 5am?

Hmmm... Bucks said he was 'maybe getting married in April'...

Malik says "Inshallah (God willing) we will get married in April."

Interesting.

not even malik is silly enough to be bucks.

Mirza seems like a good kid

Zat wrote:Hmmm... Bucks said he was 'maybe getting married in April'...

Malik says "Inshallah (God willing) we will get married in April."

Interesting.

Bucks never mentioned playing tennis nor that it looks so good in a skirt

JGK wrote:Skully, why are you posting at 5am?

Cos I sleep like sh!t.

Nice tits!

I can't really see Sania getting back into competitive tennis. Once she marries, she leaves the influence realm of her father, who, by all reports, is a pretty progessive man. I predict she'll be pregnant pretty soon and plying her trade in a burqa could be pretty tedious, I figure.
As for Shoaib playing for India? Hardly, (given the stringent immigration laws that apply to PPOs) when you have young talents like Kohli and Pandey unable to get off the bench. Mirza playing for Pakistan? Good idea

Shoaib Malik wouldn't get into our A team.

Main reason why Malik won't get in to the Indian ODI side is because then he won't be playing AGAINST India( he has really hammered india in ODIs)

Good riddance, I'd say because I don't see her representing India again. She may harbour hopes to play for India in London Olympics '12 but thats not going to happen. She is too injury prone and too much of a show pony both on and off the court.

Sania was/is perhaps most overrated tennis player. EVER.

He even rivalled Tendulkar at one stage in terms of popularity and moolah earned.

Thats how fickle Indian sponsors can be.

SG wrote:He even rivalled Tendulkar at one stage in terms of popularity and moolah earned

nowhere near in both cases, but yeah the media darling for a long time. the disconnect the media has with the populace is astounding

I said at one stage. I think that was during Tendulkar TE injury about 4-5 years back though I'm not sure.

There you go.

Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) chief Dilawar Abbas has said that India's tennis sensation Sania Mirza should represent Pakistan in international tennis tournaments after entering into wedlock with cricketer Shoaib Malik.

"It is great news for our tennis community that Sania Mirza is getting married to Shoaib Malik. We welcome her and hope that she would become a Pakistani national and play for us in future.

"She has a great future ahead and we would be delighted if she plays for Pakistan," The News quoted Abbas, as saying.

"Asian women traditionally follow their husbands and that's why I'm hopeful that someday she would be inspired by Shoaib to play for Pakistan," he added.

"Asian women traditionally follow their husbands and that's why I'm hopeful that someday she would be inspired by Shoaib to play for Pakistan,"

Ahhh, such an enlightened culture...

Imagine if a whitey uttered those words. Fark, they'd be sookin' for weeks.