The alliance of the stars !

He, is a player cricket fans look upto with inspiration and envy. She, is a player who makes tennis a sensational phenomena !! He is the best of his country and she's the role model of hers. Yes, I'm talking about none other than Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza !! The news of their wedding being confirmed by their families yesterday took the media by storm.

Malik who hails from Sialkot ,Pakistan and has played 190 one day Internationals, 29 test matches and 30 T20 matches since his debut in 2001 was ranked second after Shahid Afridi in the ICC ODI rankings of 2008. Sania Mirza, native of Hyderabad Deccan, India, won the 2003 Wimbledon Championship Girls double title and is the highest ranked female tennis player in India !

And so of course their wedding proposed to be held on 15th April will be a high profile, majorly anticipated event with a lot of fan following and media stalking, The intensity of the impact of this news can be judged by my experience in college today. I stepped into class and the first thing I hear is two girls talking about the Shoaib- Sania sensation in high pitched voice, I sat on my bench and heard Arsala ask me 'Oh did you hear about Shoaib Malik getting married to Sania Mirza? " , I go to the toilet after class and hear Rubab and Maryam talk about the about-to-be-couple, I sit on the stairs after the ward and hear two guys talking about how the media seems to have forgotten the more important news to cover Shaoib and Sania...So basically sitting, standing, walking or driving, the words Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza kept reverberating in my ears and were the topic of discussion fore everyone, all around ! 

One of the main reason this news has sprawled so much interest is that Shoaib Malik comes from Pakistan while Sania Mirza comes from India. Both the countries have had many conflicts in the past and this marriage might just serve to act socio-political bridge between the two countries. Not that cross-border marriages do not occur but cross border marriages on such high profile with both the individuals being a representative for their respective countries are rare. Secondly, one of the major question marks that exists in the minds of the people is , 'when they get married, who moves ?' , will Sania Mirza leave India to live in Pakistan or will Shoaib Malik leave Pakistan to live in India ? Either way, either one of them might just have to sacrifice his/her career ! And its not just any career we're talking about , its a major international professional sports career !!! And even if they decide to live in Dubai ,as some circles are saying, will it be possible for them to manage their relationship while living in another country and playing for another on a full time basis ? These are some questions that only time can answer but for now they sure have the prayers and blessings of their entire fan population ! Me included ! (Did I mention I have Shoaib Malik's poster in my room ? :) )

Picture from www.thatsfamous.com