Mumbai: Bollywood and cricket love stories have been making headlines since the '60s. The union of sports and cinema brings cheer to the fans and tabloids can't ask for more. There have been numerous love stories that created waves but later the romance fizzled out before the rumoured couples could follow the path that Sharmila-Tiger walked half a century ago.
Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech, Zaheer Khan and Sagarika Ghatge, Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra, Hardik Pandya and Nataša Stanković are the couples who have tightly forged Bollywood-cricket relationship. But there are many more romantic tales that did not meet the happy ending.
- Imran Khan-Zeenat Aman
Rumours of Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan and Bollywood diva Zeenat Aman spread like a wildfire when they met during one of Pakistan's tours to India in the 70s or 80s. They dated for quite a while and the cross border romance was sure to grab headlines.
One of the famous India-Pakistan love stories, however, did not culminate into marriage. After parting ways, Zeenat married Mazhar and Imran married British Billionaire heiress Jemima Goldsmith.
- Vivian Richard-Neena GuptaVivian Richard and Neena Gupta
Neena Gupta's love life has been a roller coaster ride. Neena and West Indian cricketer Vivian Richard met at a party when he was in Mumbai during a tournament. The passion between the two was brimming and within a few months, Neena was spotted with a baby bump. The actor was apparently aware of the fact that marriage with Richards was not possible, but against the will of her friends and family, she went ahead with her pregnancy and gave birth to their love child, Masaba Gupta.
- Kapil Dev-SarikaKapil Dev and Sarika
The 'Haryana Hurricane' took the Indian cricket scene by storm and thereby setting a million hearts flutter with his unlimited skills. Kapil Dev once lost his heart to actor Sarika before he found love in now wife Romi Bhatia. The romance between Kapil and Sarika started making headlines when the two were spotted together at various events and parties.
Reports suggest that the romance between Sarika and Dev bloomed after the duo met at a party and while it was going strong the God of cricket also introduced Sarika to his family. The relationship, however, did not make it beyond headlines and the two parted ways after which Kapil found love again in Romi, now his wife of nearly four decades. Sarika too moved on in her life and settled down with Kamal Haasan only to part ways after thirteen years of marriage.
- Mohammad Azharuddin-Sangeeta BijlaniMohammad Azharuddin and Sangeeta Bijlani
Mohammad Azharuddin and Sangeeta Bijlani decided to tie the knot in 1996 after a period of courtship. Sangeeta is said to meet Azhar after she had left Salman Khan barely a few days before they were to tie the knot. Azhar had once said that he met Sangeeta at an ad shoot and it was love at first sight even when he was already married to Naureen and had two kids. The two are now an estranged couple after parting ways in 2010 and back then it was reported that apart from many other things, Azhar's closeness with badminton player Jwala Gutta was a reason behind it.
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- Mohsin Khan-Reena Roy
The Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan and Bollywood actor Reena Roy's love story created ripples in both the countries when the actor at peak of her career bid adieu to her Bollywood to marry the man of her dreams. The two however separated after they had a daughter, Jannat (Reena named her Sanam), and bitter divorce and custody battle followed. Mohsin got his daughter's custody until he re-married.
- Ravi Shastri-Amrita Singh
Ravi Shastri and Amrita Singh's relationship was every tabloid's delight in the ’80s. The two were quite vocal about their relationship after falling for each other. Amrita even attended every match Ravi played. As they had nothing to hide, the two even graced a magazine cover together when the rumours of their marriage were doing the rounds. Reports also suggested that Ravi and Amrita even got engaged in 1986. Their love story, however, was short-lived as the two called off the engagement after a few years. While Ravi went onto marry Ritu in 1990, Amrita entered the wedlock with Saif Ali Khan the following year.
- Sourav Ganguly-Nagma
The love story of Sourav Ganguly and Nagma was very much discussed and was also involved in a lot of controversies. When Sourav fell in love with Nagma, he was already married to Dona Roy. The two met during the Cricket World Cup in 1999. After which they grew closer but soon parted ways. At the outset of 2000, the rumours of Ganguly-Nagma relationship hogged the headlines which rocked his married life. There were also reports that Ganguly's wife Dona was about to divorce him but at the nick of time, Sourav saved his marriage. The duo never admitted or denied being in a relationship until Nagma gave an explosive interview claiming that their relationship had to end as it was affecting Sourav's career.
- Ajay Jadeja-Madhuri Dixit
Rumours of Ajay Jadeja and Madhuri Dixit dating each other spread like wildfire after the two came together for a film magazine photoshoot. Reports of Madhuri and Ajay doing a movie together also made headlines but nothing turned out to be true as the dancing diva of Bollywood went on to marry Ram Nene in 1999.
- Wasim Akram-Sushmita SenWasim Akram and Sushmita Sen
The former Miss Universe and Bollywood diva Sushmita Sen was on the cusp of tying the knot with Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram in 2013. The two were rumoured to be seeing each other after they had become friends on the sets of a dance reality show. The couple, however, went splitsville and the reason was that Wasim was reportedly uncomfortable being a part of Sush's ultra-glam lifestyle and closeness with Lalit Modi.
- Yuvraj Singh-Deepika PadukoneYuvraj Singh and Deepika Padukone
Yuvraj Singh and Deepika Padukone met after the T20 World Cup and they clicked instantly. Both were seen at many events and secret dates that later would surface online. The romance between the two, however, fizzled out soon and back then reports suggested that Yuvi's possessive nature was the main reason for their breakup. Yuvraj, however, in an interview had said that they didn't spend enough time with each other to know if it was going to be a long-term relationship and as things turned out "she moved on and so did I."
- Yuvraj Singh-Kim SharmaYuvraj Singh and Kim Sharma
Yuvraj Singh's four-year-long relationship with Kim Sharma had come to an end when the rumours of their wedding were all over the tabloids. This time, the reason behind their split was reported to be Yuvi's mother Shabnam, who didn't approve of her son's choice and had a problem with Kim's bold image. Shabnam had however refuted the reports saying, "The media is having a field day at Yuvi's and my expense."
- Zaheer Khan-Isha SharvaniZaheer Khan and Isha Sharvani
Former fast bowler of the Indian team is now married to actor Sagarika Ghatke, but before that, he was in a serious relationship with Kisna fame actor Isha Shavrani. The two reportedly dated each other for nearly eight years before calling it quits in 2008 amid swirling speculations of their impending wedding.
- Rohit Sharma-Soifa HayatRohit Sharma and Soifa Hayat
Sofia Hayat who was allegedly dating Rohit Sharma broke up with him in 2012 after asserting that she was now looking for a “gentleman”. The model did not give any reason for her breakup apart from publicly accepting that both had parted ways. While Hayat got married to her Romanian beau Vlad Stanescue in a grand wedding ceremony in London, Rohit Sharma is happily married to Ritika Sajdeh.
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni-Raai LaxmiMahendra Singh Dhoni and Raai Laxmi
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Raai Laxmi dated each other for some time back in 2009. The two met in 2008 when Dhoni along with Suresh Raina attend her birthday party. Smitten by Dhoni, the South Indian actor had once said that she would marry captain cool if he proposes to her. Talking about her relationship with Dhoni, Raai in a throwback interview had said she knew him really well but "don't know if that can be called a relationship because it never worked out."
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni-Deepika PadukoneMahendra Singh Dhoni and Deepika Padukone
Rumours about Mahendra Singh Dhoni dating Deepika Padukone were at its peak in 2007 after Dhoni openly admitted that he has a huge crush on the actor. He even requested for a special screening of Om Shanti Om and also invited her to watch the T20 match against Australia. The invitation was accepted by Deepika and she was seen cheering for him and the team in the stands. However, the two parted ways after Padukone and Yuvraj Singh grew closer. Back then it was widely reported that MS Dhoni distanced himself from Deepika for the sake of his friendship Yuvi.
