12 Apr : Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik tied the nuptial knot on Monday as the two families advanced the high-profile marriage by three days after a tumultuous build up to the wedding.
Originally, the marriage was to take place on 15th April although stories on the re-scheduling of the marriage kept coming in the media.
“The nikah has now completed. Please pray for the couple,” Sania’s spokesperson Rucha Nayak told reporters in Hyderabad on Monday.
Clad in a red saree, which her mother Nasima wore in her nikah 25 years ago, Sania thus became the second wife of the Pakistani cricketer, who divorced his first wife Ayesha Siddiqui last week.
Shoaib wore a black sherwani, designed by Shantanu and Nikhil, for the nikah ceremony held at hotel Taj Krishna.
The two families surprised everyone on Monday morning by announcing through the spokesperson that marriage has been preponed.
The ‘Mehandi’ ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, Sangeet on 14th April and reception will be held on 15th April as scheduled, the spokesperson said.
The build up to their marriage has been controversial due to Shoaib’s first marriage with local girl Ayesha.Ayesha had alleged that Shoaib married her over phone before dumping her without a divorce due to her weight problems.
Shoaib initially denied the allegations and claimed that Ayesha duped him into a phone marriage by sending photographs of a different woman.
The all-rounder, however, finally agreed to divorce her after being pressurised by community leaders.
Ayesha had filed an FIR against Shoaib alleging fraud and criminal intimidation which led to the cricketer’s passport being confiscated by the police.
The FIRs have been withdrawn after Shoaib agreed to divorce Ayesha but is yet to get back his passport.