Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli are but recent proof of the inescapable chemistry between stars of the big screen and the cricketing field. Fact is, while there have been instances of happily-ever-afters for some couples, history is littered with the remnants of more crumbled relationships. We go down memory lane, revisiting the love triangles between cricketers and stars that didn’t have a happy ending…
Wasim Akram - Sushmita Sen - Shaniera
The tall and good looking former Pakistan cricket Wasim Akram, whose wife Huma passed away in 2009, had been linked with the tall and great looking Sushmita Sen. They had been co-judges on a television dance show in 2008. However, by 2013 even as buzz grew that the two planned to take their relationship to the next level, an unexpected development emerged… Sush took to Twitter to reveal, “Wasim Akram is a friend and will always be one!! He has a wonderful lady in his life... rumours like these are uncalled for and disrespectful!”
The lady she was referring to was Australian Shaniera Thompson, whom Wasim went on to wed the same year. The couple was blessed with a child, while Sush, still single, mothers her two adopted girls.
Zaheer Khan - Isha Sharvani - Sagarika Ghatge
Zaheer met Isha at an event in 2005, at which she was performing. Sparks few immediately and the two were joined at the hip from that day onwards. A regular sight at parties, the cricketer even helped Isha settle into a new home. They parted ways for a while, only to get back together again, stronger than ever. Marriage was on the cards, till they abruptly split in 2012.
Zaheer was spotted canoodling with VJ Ramona post this, however love blossomed between him and Chak De! stunner Sagarika Ghatge. The pair announced their engagement on April 24, 2017, and buzz goes they will tie the knot by the year end.
Yuvraj Singh - Kim Sharma - Hazel Keech
Just when the world was expecting wedding bells, the cricketer’s four-year long affair with Kim Sharma ground to a halt in 2007, some say, due to Yuvraj’s mother’s disapproval of the bold lass. However, those in the know insisted it was Yuvraj's own disenchantment with Kim's alleged “obsessive and abusive” behaviour that led to the couple's breakup. “Yes, I was going to get married, as she has been the main love of my life. She is married now, so it’s not good to talk about her,” the cricketer later admitted.
He went on to get engaged to model-actress Hazel Keech and they wed in 2016, with Hazel adopting the name Gurbasant Kaur, given to her by Sant Balvinder Singh during the wedding ceremony. And yes, his mother loves her dearly.
Ravi Shastri - Amrita Singh - Saif
They dated while they were both at the top of their game. He had even slipped a ring on her finger back in 1986. However, marriage wasn’t meant to be. Shastri himself had made it clear: “I definitely don't want an actress wife. I am chauvinistic. Her home should be her first priority.” And Dingy, as she was known, had maintained: “At the moment I'm too involved in my career to give it up. But I'm sure after a couple of years, I will be ready to become a full-time wife and mother.”
She did take the plunge in 1991, marrying Saif Ali Khan, 12 years her junior. The two divorced in 2004, while Shastri and his wife of 22 years, Ritu, also parted ways in 2012.
Kapil Dev - Sarika - Romi
Back in the day, India’s favourite cricketing captain had a favourite of his own – the light-eyed, lovely Sarika. The two apparently were rather smitten by each other but the hunky Kapil was apparently playing the field with another PYT as well.
Eventually, he chose to wed the very cultured Romi Bhatia, whom he had been introduced to by a common friend, in 1980.
Raj Singh Dungarpur - Lata Mangeshkar
Raj Singh Dungarpur, youngest son of Maharawal Lakshman Singhji, the ruler of Dungarpur, was known for being the formidable former president of Board of Control for Cricket in India. He was equally - though more discreetly - famous for his long-standing friendship with India’s Nightingale, Lata Mangeshkar. Legend has it that Dungarpur, who had played first class cricket for 16 years, had promised his parents that he wouldn’t wed a commoner. He kept his vow, he and his Lady in White, who didn’t wed either, but stayed loyal to each other until the last.
Manoj Prabhakar - Farheen - Sandhya
This was a messy triangle, by all accounts. The pretty, Madhuri Dixit-lookalike Farheen made a splash in 1992 with her debut, Jaan Tere Naam. More hits followed but in two years she had met Manoj Prabhakar and career took a backseat. The two reportedly had a secret nikaah, following which Farheen disappeared.
Rumour has it that after a four-year-long affair and a child, Manoj chose to return to his first wife Sandhya and their son. Other reports allege Manoj is still with Farheen and the couple are parents to two children. Prabhakar made unsavoury news again in 2006, when a Delhi court settled a dowry harassment case filed by Sandhya.
Mohammad Azharuddin - Sangeeta - Naureen
India’s former captain, the 24-year-old Azharuddin had married Naureen in 1987 and the couple had two sons. However, as success shone on him, Azharuddin's closeness to Sangeeta Bijlani became an open secret. Eventually he divorced Naureen to marry Bijlani in 1996.
This marriage too ended 14 years later amidst rumours that he had got involved with the young and fiery badminton player Jwala Gutta. He was last spotted in the company of Shannon Marie, who hails from LA.
Dhoni - Asin - Sakshi
Back when India’s Captain Cool was a singleton, he sure liked to mingle, and among his many female friends, pops up the name of Ghajini stunner, Asin. The two were the brand ambassadors of a fashion line, and that’s how the sparks first flew. Dhoni was allegedly even spotted at Asin’s Lokhandwala apartment before an IPL semi-final in 2010.
A crowd had gathered below her building to spot the cricketer, who definitely has a lot more fan following than his pretty actress friend. This incident got blown out of proportion as Sakshi’s family expressed their displeasure considering Dhoni was already engaged to their girl at the time! When Asin turned up at a Sri Lanka event in 2011, she had to clarify that she simply wanted to congratulate the skipper – who was already a married man at the time.
Imran - Zeenat – Jemima - Reham
When Pakistan’s cricketing pin-up met India’s first sex symbol, the result had to be combustive! These two devastatingly attractive celebrities of the sub-continent apparently dated in the late Seventies into the early Eighties. When Imran had a bad day on the field during Pakistan’s tour of India, nudge-nudge, wink-wink jokes would allude to his date with Zeenie the previous evening. However, the two broke up suddenly.
Zeenat made a bad marriage to actor Mazhar Khan, while Imran married British socialite Jemima, 20 years his junior, in 1995. Nine years and two sons later, they went their separate ways.
The marriage bug bit Imran again in 2015 when he married 41-year-old Reham Khan, who worked with the BBC as a weather correspondent. Ten months later they were divorced, after he allegedly objected to her meddling in politics.
