After being fired under magnified public glare just two weeks ahead of his wedding with Hyderabad-based Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, cricketer Shoaib Malik is receving support from leading sportpersons and other celebrities from his home country Pakistan.
Members and officials of the Pakistan cricket team that toured India in 2005 said they had attended a dinner hosted by the Siddiqui family in Hyderabad on the request of Shoaib, but weren't introduced to any girl named Ayesha Siddiqui as Shoaib Malik's wife. They claimed that they had only met the mother and the father.
To this, Ayesha claims that she was asked by Malik himself to not come out in front of his teammates as her weight would embarrass him. However, Shoaib maintains that during his visit to the Siddiquis' home, he was told that Ayesha was not present at all.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is also reported to announce lifting the one year ban it imposed on the former captain. The PCB had imposed a fine of Rs. 2 million on Shoaib, and restricted him from playing in all 3 formats of the game for violating the code of conduct during Pakistan’s tour of Australia earlier in the year. Malik, who was caught off guard then, had insisted on his innocence, and had vouched to contest the ban.