…couple to live in Dubai
NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) – Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, two of South Asia’s best known sports personalities, are to marry in April, the players said yesterday. 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.
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.