A list of cricketers who married Bollywood actresses

Yesterday, Indian skipper Virat Kohli married Bollywood diva Anushka Sharma in a simple wedding held at Italy. It’s not the first time that sports and glamour go hand in hand, and last month too, we witnessed one similar wedding. Such affairs have always been celebrated by media and public, and receive media publicity also. Yes, cricket and cinema together form a major share of entertainment for Indians for the past few decades, and many rumours have born and died in quick succession of time. When such a matter culminates to marriage, why won’t fans celebrate in a grand way! Here is a list of cricketers who married Bollywood actresses.

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma – The love birds have joined the list of married couples most recently. After a courtship of 4 years and a few troubles in relation last year, they finally got married in December 2017 in a private function held in Italy. Virat Kohli is currently Indian skipper and the best batsman from Indian side while Anushka is not far behind. She is one of the top leading ladies of B’town who has delivered blockbusters with all the three leading Khans of Bollywood.

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore – Virat Kohli is not the first Indian skipper to marry a Bollywood diva. Indian skipper of 1960s, Pataudi was bowled out by the charm of dimpled ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ in the late 1970s. They got married just before Sharmila’s career best film Aradhana got released. Pataudi is no more. But the discussion of affairs between cricketers and Bollywood actresses is incomplete without taking their name. In fact, they are the first one among the list to begin this series. Soon after the death of former Tamil actress & politician a bit of information filled news column. It’s the story of one-sided love and admiration of the actress towards the cricketer before he got married to Sharmila.

Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanjeeta Bijalani – The couple are no longer together as they legally separated in 2010. The third skipper to join the list, their affair added a lot of fire and fumes to the media world in the 1990s, as Azhar was already a married man and a father of two. Despite getting negative publicity from fans and media, Azha divorced his first wife and got married to Sanjeeta in 1996. Sanjeeta was engaged to Bollywood actor Salman Khan in the early 1990s, and the actor is still unmarried. Bollywood film Azar – a biopic of Indian skipper, showcased both his personal and professional lives, though sank at box office without traces.

Zaheer Khan and Sagarika Ghatge – Former Indian pace bowler Zaheer married Sagarika Ghatge last month (November 2017) after a lot of speculations. Though Zaheer is a big name in Indian cricketer, Sagarika has only a few films in her kitty, most notable one being Chak De! India, her debut film.

Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech – One of India’s most loved cricketers all-time, Yuvraj’s name has been linked with many Bollywood actresses, and media has always celebrated those rumours. After battling with cancer and an illustrative career in Indian cricket, he tied the nuptial knot with model-turned-actress Hazel Keech in 2016. Kim Sharma, Preity Zinta, Deepika Padukone and Preeti Jhangiani are some of the names from Bollywood with whom Yuvraj was earlier linked with and all those rumours died with time.

Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra – Harbhajan remained India’s one of the leading spinners all time, and he tied knot with model-turned-actress Geeta Basra in 2015. Geeta didn’t have a successful career in Bollywood and her works are easily forgotten.

Manoj Prabhakar and Farheen – Cricketer of 1980s and early 1990s got married to less-known Bollywood actress Farheen. Jaan Tere Naam and Kalaignan are her noted works.

Story of Vivian Richards and Neena Gupta

Their love story didn’t culminate into marriage. Neena was way ahead of her times when she took the bold decision to go ahead with her pregnancy in the late 1980s. As a single mother, she brought up her daughter Masaba Gupta who is now a very successful fashion designer. Neena is perhaps the first celebrity from Bollywood who became unwed mother. Richards too has openly admitted the relationship and treated their daughter very well.

Bollywood actress Reena Roy married Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan, and Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has also fell for Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. These are a few instances where love affairs are not strictly bounded within country boundaries.  

Images: YouTube Screenshots

Also have a look at the list of songs of new-generation Bollywood actors. Here is the page link. Click on the images to read.