Not just Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli: Here are other B-Town beauties who bowled over cricketing stars

Both cricket and Bollywood hold a great fascination in our country and when the two get together, the allure is irresistible. The romance between a cricketer and an actress is full of mystique, magic, and charm; not to forget the most talked about! As proved by the latest love story between India’s hottest cricketer Virat Kohli and B-Town’s top actress Anushka Sharma. In what was seen as the most-anticipated wedding this year, Virushka, as they are popularly called, tied the knot in Italy amidst close friends and family members.

As is widely known, their love story began when the two shot for a commercial together. Sparks flew between the suave cricketer and the B-Town beauty and it wasn’t long before the two were spotted holidaying together on foreign shores. 

Anushka was also seen at the stands cheering for her beau at a few matches, and he blew a kiss to her after scoring a half century. Yet, the two refrained from talking about their relationship. They also had their ups and downs and at one point, the actress was blamed for Virat’s poor performance in a few matches. The two went through a brief breakup, too, during which the cricketer’s fans trolled the actress. But Virat stood by his ladylove and shamed the trolls. Soon after, they got together and are now “bounded in love forever”. 

Here, we take a look at other such couplings between dashing sportsmen and B-Town beauties.   

Sagarika Ghatge-Zaheer Khan

In a rare instance of reel life being played out in real, Sagarika, who is shown engaged to a cricketer in Chak De!, got hitched to one last month. The couple made their first joint appearance at Yuvraj Singh-Hazel Keech’s wedding. It was batsman Rohit Sharma who gave a hint about their romance when he posted a picture of Yuvi, Zaheer and Sagarika, tweeting, “Brotherman down! Best wishes to my older brother @YUVSTRONG12 ! All eyes on @imZaheer now.” (Sic) Just when the rumour mills started buzzing, Yuvraj added to it by entering into a teasing banter with Sagarika before the release of her film Iraada earlier this year. And, yes, he tagged Zaheer in it, too. 

Before long, the former Indian fast bowler made it official by putting up a picture of himself and Sagarika, with the actress sporting an engagement ring. The couple tied the knot in a big fat Indian wedding last month.

Hazel Keech-Yuvraj Singh

The all-rounder and the Bodyguard actress managed to keep their relationship away from prying eyes. It was only when they attended Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra’s wedding that the cat was out of the bag. The two then sprung a surprise by announcing their engagement. They exchanged rings in Bali and put up a picture on social media. Yuvi and Hazel got married last year.   

Geeta Basra-Harbhajan Singh

This couple kept their romance under the wraps for quite a long time. It was only a few months before they tied the knot that the actress and the fast bowler started coming out in the open about their relationship. She started going to Bhajji’s matches while he tweeted in support of his ladylove’s film. He even did a cameo in her movie Second Hand Husband. Later, Harbhajan confessed in an interview that it was love at first sight for him when he saw her in the song Woh Ajnabee from Train and after pursuing her for almost a year, the two entered into a relationship. The loved-up couple entered into wedlock last year in October and are proud parents to a baby girl, Hinaya.

Sangeeta Bijlani-Mohammad Azharuddin

The then skipper and the model-turned-actress met at the photoshoot of a commercial and it wasn’t long before love blossomed between the two. While she was nursing a heartbreak after her break-up with Salman Khan, Azhar was married and a father of two kids. But Cupid had struck, and Azhar divorced his wife to marry Sangeeta. But this marriage also went through turmoil with the two parting ways.   

Reena Roy-Mohsin Khan

A prem kahani across borders, the Pakistani cricketer and Bollywood actress fell in love and got married after a brief courtship. Mohsin tried his hand at films, but didn't succeed. The two had a daughter, but soon there was trouble in their marriage. They eventually got divorced and Reena, who returned to India, has the custody of their daughter.

Sharmila Tagore-Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

When the captain of the Indian cricket team and B-Town’s top actress got married, it was nothing short of a fairytale. Their romance started four years before they tied the knot. Introduced to each other by common friends, it was an instant attraction for Pataudi, but it took a while for the Nawab to woo the dimpled beauty. They belonged to different faiths and it took some time for their parents to come around. But all’s well that ends well. The two had a royal wedding and though at the time several people believed it won’t last, the couple lived in wedded bliss for four decades and had three children — Saif, Soha and Saba.