Lahore, April 27: Rubbishing allegations of selling invitation cards of his wedding reception, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has asked the media to reduce the hype over his marriage with Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.
”I can only laugh at stories in the media that invitation cards for our wedding reception were sold. This thing about our wedding cards being sold it is laughable. Please don’t turn wedding cards into credit cards,” Malik said, adding that he was highly disappointed by the negative stories about them in the media. There have been reports that Malik had sold invitaion cards of his reception held on Sunday at Sialkot for Rs 15,000 each. It was also reported that Shoaib had demanded Rs 35 million to sell media rights for covering their reception and ‘valima’ ceremony.
Malik, who was currently serving a 12-month ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following the national team’s disastrous show Down Under, expressed his displeasure over the way the newly-wedded couple has been portrayed by the media.
He said due to the continuous attention, he and Sania are not able to live like a normal couple. ”I am pleased to know that people are happy with our marriage but I think now it is time to stop this hype and let us live like a normal couple. I would request the media to leave alone both the families,” Malik said in his first appearance along with Sania after marriage on a Pakistani channel last night. ”Two people from different countries got married and it should only be treated as a marriage nothing more.
Malik said he was delighted with the ongoing celebrations in Pakistan over his marriage with Sania, but added that he was now tired of playing bodyguard to his wife. ”I would ask the media to reduce the hype let our families enjoy this occasion as any family would celebrate a marriage. Because of all this hype I couldn’t even meet with my friends and relatives properly at the reception in Sialkot, it was a mad rush,” he told ‘Ary News’.
Meanwhile, Sania Mirza expressed surprise over the hype in the media over their marriage. ”It is not like ours is a great big love story. Strangely we were introduced by a common friend from the media then I met him in Hobart and our families also met and we decided to get married,” she said. Unruly scenes hogged the limelight at the reception on Sunday and it has been learnt that Sania’s father Imran has been personally supervising all security arrangements for the ‘valima’ reception here.
—-Agencies