Cricket News
Top 7 controversial cricketer’s affairs with Bollywood actresses
These seven couples made headlines for wrong reasons.
India is crazy about two things- the first is cricket and the second is Bollywood. Fans are often seen going gaga about their favourite stars in our country. They can go to any extent to get a glimpse of their beloved celebrities.
Much before the Indian T20 League made the world of Bollywood and cricket collide with each other, the connection between the two had already made headlines on several occasions in the past. Here’s looking at seven such instances when cricketers and Bollywood actresses dated each other:
- MS Dhoni and Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone, MS Dhoni (Source: Twitter)
MS Dhoni emerged as the poster boy of Indian Cricket ever since he scored his first International hundred against Pakistan in 2005. The stylish batter became a national crush and had many female fans swooning over his stylish strokeplay. Among the many admirers of the ‘Captain Cool’, there was one popular name of the emerging Bollywood actress, Deepika Padukone.
The couple also walked the ramp in a fashion event together. Deepika had admitted being a true fan of MS Dhoni. There were rumours which said that Dhoni got rid of his long hair because Deepika did not like them. Their relationship didn’t end up being anywhere and Deepika was further rumoured to be dating Yuvraj Singh after Dhoni.
2. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore
MAK Pataudi, Sharmila Tagore (Source: Twitter)
Mansoori Ali Khan Pataudi was a great captain and terrific striker of the cricket ball. His soaring sixes stole the heart of the Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore and both got into a relationship. The couple tied the knots in 1969 and were blessed with three children – Saif Ali Khan, Saba Ali Khan, and Soha Ali Khan.
3. Neena Gupta and Viv Richards
Viv Richards, Neena Gupta (Source : Twitter)
Viv Richards was the most destructive batter of his era. He was known for his aggressive strokeplay and had a knack for launching the ball into the stands for fun. As a batter who would bring the bowlers down to their knees, Richards himself fell for the actress Neena Gupta. Their relationship was the major talking point in the country as Richards was already a married man.
The relationship between the two took an ugly turn when Neena got pregnant out of wedlock and Richards refused to marry her and ended the relationship. Neena raised her daughter Masaba Gupta as a single mother and never got in the way of her relationship with her father. Masaba is still in good touch with her father and is often seen spending some quality time with him.
3. Rishabh Pant and Urvashi Rautela
Rishabh Pant, Urvashi Rautela (Source: Twitter)
In the year 2018, there were talks of the cricketer Rishabh Pant and actress Urvashi Rautela, who hailed from the same state of Uttarkhand, being in a relationship. As per some rumours, Pant had blocked Rautela on Whatsapp as he didn’t want to take the relationship forward.
Later, when Urvashi Rautela was asked by a fan about her favourite cricketer, she said that she does not know any cricketer and does not watch cricket. Right after her statement, the photos of the actress watching a cricket match in a stadium went viral.
Rautela once again brought the controversy to light after she referred to the cricketer as ‘Mr. RP’ in her recent interview and said that she made him wait for a long time in the Hotel Lobby to meet her in Delhi. She further revealed that the meeting didn’t take place at all as she fell asleep. Rishabh Pant took to his Instagram handle to reply to the actress and posted on his story that people say anything in the interviews to get famous. Rautela, further, replied to Pant’s story and posted that the cricketer should only stick to playing cricket and even called him a ‘cougar-hunter’.
4. Mohammad Azharuddin and Sangeeta Bijlani
Mohammad Azharuddin, Sangeeta Bijlani (Source: Twitter)
Mohammad Azharuddin announced his arrival in International cricket in style by scoring three consecutive hundreds in his first three Tests. The stylish batter quickly rose to fame and became the captain of the Indian cricket team.
Apart from the controversy on the field, Azharuddin also made headlines for his affair with the Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani. The affair between the two was the talk of the town as Azharuddin was already a married man. The couple got married in 1996 and, later, got separated in the year 2010 due to irreconcilable differences.
4. Hardik Pandya and Natasha Stankovic:
Hardik Pandya, Natasha Stankovic
Hardik Pandya got engaged to the model/actress Natasha Stankovic in the year 2019. The all-rounder proposed to the actress on a boat and shared the moment with his fans on Instagram. The couple shared the news of pregnancy during the Covid lockdown in 2020 which took the internet by storm as the two hadn’t married yet.
However, the couple also shared the photos of their private wedding at home along with the announcement of the pregnancy to save themselves from any backlash. The duo have been living happily since then and are blessed with a baby boy named ‘Agastya’.
4. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma
Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma (Source: Twitter)
The most famous couple of the current era, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma began dating each other in the year 2012. Both of them denied any hints of a relationship between the two during the early years. The couple made headlines when Anushka was seen at the stadium during a match of the Indian team.
The couple publicly announced their relationship in style when Virat hit the winning six during an ODI game against Sri Lanka and blew a flying kiss toward the actress. The couple also found themselves in controversy when India lost the semi-finals of the 2015 ODI World Cup.
Anushka had flown to Australia to watch the game live from the stadium but Kohli got out early in the innings as India failed to chase the total of 329. Following India’s loss, the Bollywood actress was heavily trolled all over the internet and was believed to be an unlucky charm for the team.
Despite all the controversy, the couple finally tied the knots in December 2017 and are now parents of a daughter named ‘Vamika’.
