Shoaib Malik recently announced his third marriage to Pakistani actor Sana Javed, raising eyebrows and confirming his divorce from Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.
Shoaib Malik shared photographs of his wedding ceremony with Sana Javed on January 20, marking a new beginning after rumors of his separation from Indian tennis star Sania Mirza had been making headlines on both sides of the border.
However, Shoaib Malik’s journey in matrimony has not been without its share of controversies, with Ayesha Siddiqui being a central figure in the drama before his marriage to Sania Mirza in 2010.
The controversy emerged right before Shoaib was set to marry Sania in 2010 when Ayesha Siddiqui, a teacher from Hyderabad, claimed that she had married the Pakistani cricketer in 2002.
Ayesha, also known as Maha Siddiqui, alleged that Shoaib was going to marry Sania without legally dissolving their marriage.
The saga unfolded with Ayesha filing a police complaint against Shoaib, accusing him of cheating.
Ayesha presented video clips of their purported wedding in 2002 as evidence of their union. This revelation created a storm in both India and Pakistan, captivating the attention of cricket enthusiasts and the general public.
As the controversy escalated, reports surfaced that Shoaib Malik and Ayesha Siddiqui settled, culminating in Shoaib divorcing his first wife.
The divorce settlement included substantial alimony amounting to INR 15 crore, facilitated by the involvement of 10 to 15 mediators.
What added a peculiar twist to the tale was the nature of Shoaib and Ayesha’s initial union. Shoaib acknowledged that their marriage was conducted through a ‘telephonic nikah’ in 2002, a unique and unconventional arrangement where the cricketer hadn’t even met Ayesha in person.
Shoaib, who was 20 years old at the time, revealed that the telephonic nikah occurred as Ayesha insisted on immediate marriage due to the public attention their relationship was garnering.
The controversy took a turn in August 2005 when Shoaib discovered that the girl he had been communicating with on the phone was not the same person as depicted in the pictures.
Confronting Ayesha, he learned the truth about the deception. Despite considering the release of the pictures, Shoaib decided against it, respecting Ayesha’s privacy as she had already been married.
As Shoaib Malik embarks on a new marital journey with Sana Javed, the past controversies surrounding his first marriage to Ayesha Siddiqui remain a part of the cricketer’s complex personal narrative.
Also Read: Who is Sana Javed? Shoaib Malik’s New Wife, Know Details
