Malik confirmed the rumours to be true on his twitter page saying, "The news of me marrying to Sania is true," Malik posted on Twitter on Tuesday. "Inshallah (God willing) will get married in April."
Malik-Mirza EngagementThe pair are alleged to have met during the Pakistan Cricket teams tour of Australia from Dec 2009-Jan 2010. Malik had been a member of the touring Pakistan Cricket Team with Mirza participating in a Tennis tournament
Parallels are being drawn to former Pakistan cricketer Mohsin Khan, who during his playing days married Indian actress Reena Roy in the 1980s. Khan who is now Chief Cricket Selector and cousin of legendary captain Imran Khan divorced Roy a few years later
The Daily Dawn Newspaper reported a source close to the family as having confirmed that a reception for the couple is planned in mid-April after the marriage. Sania’s father Imran Mirza also confirmed the news that the couple were to get married in April 2010.
Mirza had been in a long term relationship with childhood sweetheart Sohrab Mirza. This was broken of by Mirza in January 2009 with the 23 year old tennis star citing incompatibility as the reason for the break-up.
Shoaib Malik in India
Malik has previously been linked to India beauty and film star Siali Bhagat, with reports of the two meeting confidentially in 2008.
The cricket was also linked with Ayesha Siddique who hails from Sania Mirza’s hometown of Hyderabad.
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik has been part of the Pakistan Cricket team since 2001 and has made 28 test appearances and 187 ODI appearances for his country.
He captained the side between 2007 and 2009 leading them to the final of the inaugural 20-20 World Cup where they were narrowly beaten by India in a thrilling final.
Malik was also part of the triumphant 2009 20-20 side that won the tournament on England.
Currently he is facing a one year ban from the national set up for allegedly causing infighting among the team.
Sania Mirza is a two time Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles competition and the first Indian female Tennis star to break into the top 40 of the world tennis rankings peaking at number 27 in 2007.
Sania Mirza
The 23 year old Mirza has courted controversy from conservative Muslim groups for her playing attire of short skirts and tops and the Indian state when she was pictured with her feet raised towards the Indian Flag.
The news is expected to attract huge attention as the two stars respective nations have been at loggerheads since the 1947 partition of the Indian Sub-Continent.
This rivalry has crossed over into the sports arena as recently as this year when no Pakistani players were picked for the 2010 Indian Premier League. This followed the Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to ban any Pakistan players from playing in the 2009 version of the lucrative tournament.
These rows came on the back of diplomatic tensions as India accused its neighbour of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks which left 173 people dead.
Sources
Daily Dawn Newspaper, Shoaib Malik to wed Sania Mirza, Tuesday 30th March 2010 front page
Faisal Hanif - I graduated in 2008 from the University of Leicester with Bachelor Hons in History. I have recently completed a Masters in the History of ...
Join the Conversation