Shaheen Shah Afridi and Ansha Afridi tied the knot in a beautiful daytime nikkah in Karachi on Friday. A reception was held for the couple at the DHA Golf and Country Club after their nikkah and attended by a lot of Shaheen’s teammates from the national cricket team.
The groom said ‘qabool hai’ at the mosque surrounded by his brothers and father-in-law, former cricketer Shahid Afridi.
After the nikah ceremony was a reception at the Golf Club. The garden area was bedecked with pink and white flowers, drapery, and white and cane furniture with the sea as a spectacular backdrop.
The groom wore a light grey-silver coat of sorts — we’re hesitant to call it a sherwani because of the neckline — with silver accent buttons and matching embroidery on the neckline, sleeves as well as pocket. He paired the look with a silver watch and gel backed hair. Pictures of the bride have not been publicised.
We like that Shaheen experimented with his outfit rather than going the traditional white sherwani route but it was his father-in-law Shahid who stole the limelight with his well-cut all-white sherwani.
Guests at the event included Shaheen’s teammates, Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah, among others. Actor Adnan Siddiqui was also in attendance as was former squash champion Jehangir Khan.
Event organisers Gathering Events shared behind the scenes clip of the space that was full of ivory and pink hues. The video clip pans to the brown, white and pale pink decor with white and pink roses on the tables. The same floral setting can be seen hanging from the structure and along the aisle with some leaf elements. Three floral arches bedecked with white roses were also seen placed behind an ivory love-seat where the couple was likely going to sit.
The Lahore Qalandars’ team shared messages on Instagram to wish their captain on his big day.
The team’s all-rounder, South African-Namibian cricketer David Wiese, wished Shaheen in a video message saying, “Hey Shaheen, hope all is well on your side. Congratulations on the wedding day, I wish you all the love and happiness in the world. And just remember one thing that happy wife, happy life. Enjoy, mate.”
Pace spearhead Haris Rauf also wished Shaheen in a video and excused himself for missing out the nikah due to “professional commitments”. But he promised to celebrate Shaheen’s big event during the PSL season when they reunite on the field.
Shaheen’s is one in a long line of cricket weddings this winter. Shadab announced that he got married in a nikah ceremony recently and requested people to respect his family and wife’s privacy while sending prayers and love for all. In his statement he wrote, “I am becoming part of my mentor Saqi Bhai’s [Saqlain Mushtaq’s] family. When I started playing cricket, I wanted to keep my family life separate, my family has also opted to stay out of public light. My wife has asked for the same, she wants her life to remain private.”
Before him, Shan Masood got married to Nische Khan in a grand wedding ceremony in Peshawar and held a valima in Karachi. Rauf got married to Muzna Masood Malik in a day-time nikah ceremony in Islamabad.
