Shoaib Malik-Sania Mirza divorce rumours: What the Indo-Pak power couple have said about each other-Sports News , Firstpost

Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik. Image: Twitter/@MirzaSania

As per the rumour mill, Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik and Indian tennis player Sania Mirza have parted ways. However, the two are yet to officially address the matter and come out with a public announcement.

The former Pakistan cricket captain and the Indian tennis icon’s marriage in 2010 had taken the sub-continent by storm and over the years, the two were seen as something of a power couple in this part of the world, welcoming son Izhaan Mirza Malik in 2018.

Their marriage, however, has reportedly been unsteady recently and has resulted in them apparently staying apart from each other and resorting to co-parenting their son.

Malik, who has represented Pakistan for more than two decades, was rumoured to have cheated on Mirza, one of India’s greatest tennis players ever, with Pakistani model and actress Ayesha Omar, whom he met during a photoshoot for OK! magazine in 2021.

Later a member of Malik’s management team, who also happens to be a close friend of the couple, confirmed to Inside Sport that their split was official. Pakistan’s Geo News later claimed that the couple weren’t making the announcement official since they have a number of contracts signed with different shows and news of their split could lead to legal complications.

Though not ending on a good note, the Shoaib-Sania marriage remains one of the most talked about marriages in the world of sport.

We take a look at some of Shoaib and Sania’s comments on each other and their marriage over the years:

“You don’t concern yourself with where your partner is from”

Given the political tensions between the two South Asian nuclear-armed nations, both Shoaib and Sania were bound to be quizzed about being married to someone from a supposed “enemy” nation.

“In a marriage, you don’t concern yourself with where your partner is from or what is going on between the countries or in politics. If you love someone and get married to that person that should be all that matters, regardless of which country you come from,” is what Malik told Pakpassion.net.

“Not been easy for me to stay away…”

The couple had been separated, albeit due to the global outbreak of COVID-19 along with its accompanying restrictions and not because of a breakdown in their marriage as Malik and Mirza found themselves stranded in their respective home nations. Their son Izhaan, meanwhile, remained with his mother during their time away from each other.

“It has not been easy for me to stay away from Shoaib and, especially, for Izhaan to stay away from his father. I am looking forward to being back as a family again in one place,” Mirza told the Indian Express in an interview.

“Still as much in love with Shoaib”

While the couple have reportedly severed ties already, this isn’t the first time the pair have had to deal with divorce rumours. Back in 2014, Mirza had to come out and quash talks of their marriage hitting rock bottom when reports of differences between them were making rounds.

“It has not been easy for either of us but we have tried to manage as best as we can and I can tell you I am still as much in love with Shoaib as we were when we got married four years ago,” Sania had said back then, according to PTI.