This is one love story that has unfortunately gone sour. Pakistani cricket captain Shoaib Malik has done a volte-face and claims he never married Hyderabadi girl Ayesha Siddiqui, and was only involved with her in a longrelationship. He further adds that the couple split because their families could not reach an agreement on the marriage issue. This is in complete contrast to his confession last year when Shoaib visited India. He had acknowledged in an interview to this newspaper, on March 26, 2007, "We met in Dubai for the first time. The nikaah was performed on phone on May 2, 2003." It was reported then that in 2002 the couple had met in Dubai and sparks flew instantly. Two years later, they got married through a clandestine phone-nikaah. Shoaib was based in Sialkot and Ayesha in Hyderabad, India.
But the cricketer who has now become the captain of the Pakistan cricket team suddenly seems to have had a change of heart and has unceremoniously dumped Ayesha. Shoaib Malik as well as his parents started avoiding talks with the Hyderabadi family.
Though the first few months after the revelation of the secret marriage passed happily, soon relatives and friends started inquiring about the bride's future plans. Ayesha's family gradually realised that the Maliks were in no mood to discuss the future.
Despite all odds Ayesha's family members tried to meet Malik, who refused to even meet his in-laws citing inane excuses, according to a close friend of Mr Ahmed Siddiqui, father of Ayesha Siddiqui. "Mr Siddiqui tried to contact Malik who refused to meet his fatherin-law," says a family friend.
This is in complete contrast to the happy family picture that was portrayed when the Pakistani team was here last year. Ayesha's father, Ahmed Siddiqui had hosted a grand dinner for his son-in-law and the entire Pakistani team when they were in Hyderabad last year.
What's more his mother Farookh Sultana had stated in a telephonic interview from Sialkot, "Yes Shoaib has chosen a girl from Hyderabad. We all liked the girl very much. She is a good looking, pyari girl. We have decided to conduct the wedding in India."
Sadly, the proposed wedding ceremony, which was slated for August 2007 never took place dashing Ayesha's dreams of joining her husband.
Ayesha has completed her MBA but is not working. The family of Mr Siddiqui, a retired Saudi Airlines employee, lives in Banjara Hills. "They don't share much about what's going on in their life and Mr Siddiqui seeks advice very rarely with his close friends," says a friend. "It's better that it happened now. Who knows what kind of life Ayesha would have encountered with Shoaib in Pakistan," adds another close friend.
The family members refused to comment on the issue, hoping to put this unfortunate incident behind them and get on with their lives.
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