India and Pakistan are arch-rivals on the cricket field and on the terrestrial front. Bad blood brews between the two nations on a daily basis, so much so, that India have severed all sporting ties with Pakistan on bilateral cases. Both the countries are neighbors and separated in 1947, hence both nations have identical cultures, very similar. But cricket is the sport that both the nations love and that is what brings the whole nation to a halt, when Pakistan play India. India recently played Pakistan in their opener at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which Pakistan lost by 124 runs.
There have been cricketers in both these sides who have had love affairs, marriages and even marry twice. Did you know your heroes had married twice. Some of the names are bound to stun you, we bet:
Yograj Singh: Those of you who have seen ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, an Indian film, they would remember the coach, who trained Milkha (Farhan Akhtar), the central character in the movie to oust the Pakistani runner. Yograj Singh also happens to be the father of Yuvraj Singh. He apparently happens to be a former Indian cricketer, politician and a Punjabi actor. Hence, he qualifies in this list. Yograj initially married Shabnam, who was a daughter of a businessman. She was an ambitious lady and wanted to pursue her dreams and hence they separated. Yograj tied his knot for the second time with Satveer Kaur. Yuvraj Singh was his son from his first wife. From Satveer Kaur, Yograj had a son and a daughter; Yuvraj is very close to both families.
Jograj Singh & his two wives (Shabnam and Satveer)!
Vinod Kambli: Once upon a time hailed as a promising talent to being out of the Indian team, Kambli has seen the ups and the downs. Kambli has been involved in many controversies away from the ground. Well, Kambli initially married his childhood friend Noella Lewis in the year 1998. That did not work out as Kambli had started dating model Andrea Hewitt. Soon he divorced Noella. Later Vinod and Andrea had a court marriage, then they decided to conduct a small traditional marriage ceremony in the year 2014 alongside their son.
Vinod Kambli and Noella Lewis (L) Andrea Hewitt (R)
Mohammad Azharuddin: He was one of the most wristy and classical cricketer to have captained India. But his career took a dip when he got entangled into the match-fixing controversy that rocked cricket in 1999. If one has seen the biopic on him one would know that he married twice. Azhar was initially married to Naureen and had two sons with her, namely Asad and Ayaz. But their marriage didn’t last long as he got involved in a relationship with Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani. So they got divorced and Azhar married with Sangeeta in 1996.
Mohammad Azharuddin with Naureen (L) Sangeeta Bijlani (R)
Wasim Akram: One of the best pacers the world has ever seen. He was a lady-charmer some would say. Akram too has been colourful of the field like his predecessor Imran Khan, one may say. Wasim Akram first married to psychologist Huma Mufti in 1995. Sadly, in 2009, she died due to severe health issues like multiple organ failures. He got married for the second time with Shaniera Thompson, a former public relations consultant.
Wasim Akram with Huma Mufti (L) Shaneira Thompson (R)
Imran Khan: One of the most celebrated cricketers of Pakistan till date. He also helped them win the 1992 WC. . But Imran Khan, who had good looks was often the eye-candy for women. He first married Jemima Goldsmith, a Brit in a two-minute ceremony at Paris. Later, when they came to Pakistan, they got divorced, as Jemima couldn’t adapt to the living conditions in Pakistan. In January 2015, Khan married a British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan in a private Nikah ceremony at his residence in Islamabad. But it seems he is happy and that is all that matters.
Imran Khan with Jemima Goldsmith (L) Reham Khan (R)
Dinesh Karthik: The wicketkeeper-batsman of India is in England for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. He has been a part of the team usually in MS Dhoni’s absence. But his personal life is bound to grab eyeballs. It is believed that his first wife Nikita was having a secret affair with Murali Vijay. When the news became public, Dinesh divorced his wife who was also pregnant with Vijay’s baby. After this, Dinesh finally tied the knot again with squash player Dipika Palliwal in 2015.
Dinesh Karthik with Nikita (L) Dipika Palliwal (R)
Shoaib Malik: The last but not the least, Shoaib Malik too married twice. He is now married happily to Sania Mirza, the Indian tennis star. But in the past, he was allegedly married to Ayesha Siddiqui. Ayesha even registered a case with the police against Malik saying that he two had married in 2002. Later Shoaib and Ayesha reached a settlement and got divorced formally.
Shoaib Malik with Ayesha Siddiqui (L) Sania Mirza (R)
