The connection between Bollywood and cricket rewinds back to decades. There have been many actresses who have dated cricket players at one point of time. From Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi marrying Sharmila Tagore to Virat Kohli getting engaged with Anushka Sharma– the two industries have also given many star couples to the world.
It’s not an unusual sight that an actress is cheering for her better half or partner from the stands. Over the years, many actresses have been spotted off the field with cricket players. While some relationships were short-lived, others were fruitful enough to tie the knot with Bollywood actresses.
No matter how strong the rumor was, news of a cricketer dating an actress has always caught the spotlight. With the evolution of social media, the number of rumors have increased by leaps and bounds. In the modern age, rumors have now become an inseparable part of a cricketer’s life and here, we list out five such rumors involving ‘Cricket’ and ‘Bollywood’.
YUVRAJ SINGH DATED DEEPIKA PADUKONE, & KIM SHARMA
Indian All rounder and two times world cup hero Yuvraj reportedly dated Kim Sharma for four long years. They were keen to get married but ended up getting in break up. Sources say that Yuvraj’s Mother wasn’t happy with the Relationship at all. Shabnam Singh, his mother was not happy with the way Kim has exposed herself in her movies. Yuvraj and Kim after all this broke up with each other, with Yuvraj marrying Kim’s Counterpart Hazel Keech later on. The three were also seen together at his Retirement Bash, which he took after his marriage.
Before marrying Ranveer Singh, Deepika was linked-up with Yuvraj Singh. Very few people know this that Deepika was earlier dating India’s captain cool MS Dhoni before getting into a relationship with Yuvraj Singh.
JASPRIT BUMRAH AND ANUPAMA PARMESHWARAM
Since breaking into the national side with impressive performances for Mumbai Indians, Jasprit Bumrah has developed himself as one of the most lethal pacers across the globe. Toe-crushing yorkers, impeccable accuracy and lethal pace are some of the traits of the speedster. However, Bumrah’s impressive career did not escape from dating rumors, and one such was his link-up with South Indian actress Anupama Parameswaran.
However, Parameswaran denied the rumors and cleared the air. She stated that she’s just good friends with the Indian pacer and they’re not dating. All this happened when Bumrah was representing India at the 2019 World Cup in England. Earlier, Bumrah was also linked up with Raashi Khanna. But Khanna also had denied the rumors, while stating that she didn’t even know the bowler personally.
KL RAHUL AND SONAL CHAUHAN
KL Rahul, the most-improved Indian international in recent times, has cemented his place in the limited-overs side due to his batting form. Moreover, he has also been contributing with his keeping skills. Since the 2019 World Cup, the Karnataka batsman has emerged as an indispensable part of the national side.
However, Rahul has also been linked with many actresses during the course of his career. There were rumours in 2017 suggesting that Rahul was dating actress Nidhi Agarwal. Later in 2019, rumours came that the star batsman is dating Sonal Chauhan.
When Chauhan was asked about Rahul, she clarified the matter and said that the dating rumours were false. Sonal said that he is a very good cricketer and a very talented and nice guy. However, she denied the rumours. At the present, KL Rahul has been reportedly dating actress Athiya Shetty and they both are posting pictures together on social media accounts.
MS DHONI AND DEEPIKA PADUKONE
‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni had a fabulous career so far. Despite being in the latter stage of his career, the former Indian skipper is regarded as a lethal batsman and wicketkeeper. Dhoni tied the knot to Sakshi in 2010 and they also have a daughter named Ziva. However, before his marriage, the Jharkhand cricketer was linked with a few Bollywood actresses.
In 2007, rumours of Dhoni dating actress Deepika Padukone were at their peak. There were also reports that Dhoni had invited the Bollywood actress to watch the T20I game against Australia. She was also spotted while cheering in the stands during the match. Dhoni was madly in love with Deepika so much so that he was soon going to propose the leggy lass but destiny had something else in store for the cricketer. Soon reports of Deepika dating Dhoni’s dear friend Yuvraj Singh starting doing the rounds. This news not only broke Dhoni’s heart but reports suggest that the cricketer went into depression.
He was also rumored to have affair with Asin and Raai Laxmi. However, none of them accepted it publicly that they were dating each other. Hence, reports of the affair were eventually dismissed and Dhoni tied the knot with Sakshi after three years.
RISHABH PANT AND URAVASHI RAUTELA
Rishabh Pant, the young Indian wicketkeeper-batsman broke into the national team with big expectations as he had to fill the shoes of veteran MS Dhoni. Despite being criticized on several occasions, Pant has been successful in making his presence known in the side. He has played some vital knock so far in his career but has been criticized many times for his poor glove work and inconsistency.
Along with his professional life, his personal life was also in news due to rumors of Pant dating Bollywood actress Urvashi Rautela. The rumours was to such an extent that many reports suggested that both individuals had blocked each other on WhatsApp after their break-up.
Speculations of dating started doing rounds of social media after the two were spotted outside a restaurant. However, Pant silenced all the link-up rumours by sharing a picture with his girlfriend Isha Negi on Instagram. The caption of the photo read, “I like me better when I’m with you.”