Malik ignores akhtar biography

KARACHI: Preferring to play down the controversy stirred by Shoaib Akhtar's recently released biography 'Controversially Yours', in which he has made some tall claims, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik said there was no point in giving much importance to the pacer's book.

"When his own family does not take him seriously, I don't understand why is everyone taking his comments in his book seriously?," Malik told a TV channel in an interview, where he appeared with his wife, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza.

Shoaib and Sania appeared on Tuesday's Geo TV morning show and spoke on issues concerning their lives and how marriage had changed things.

Sania said that she would like to see her husband accomplish a lot of milestones in international cricket and believed that he still has a lot to offer to Pakistan cricket.

"I am a fan of Shoaib, the cricketer, and believes he has lot of years of international cricket left in him. I want to see him reaching more milestones in the coming years," Sania, in a first ever detailed appearance on a Pakistani TV channel, said.

Sania admitted that the period when Shoaib was out of the Pakistan cricket team, she was constantly supporting him and telling him to keep his spirits up and keep on performing in domestic cricket.

"It has been a difficult time for us after marriage because both of us have had to travel a lot but we have remained very close to each other and constantly kept in touch," Sania said.

Describing her husband as a "romantic person", who fulfills her wishes even before she expresses them, Sania confirmed that the couple had first taken to liking each other and then their families met to finalise the wedding.

Stating that she doesn't like to comment on media reports concerning their married life and like to stay clear of controversies, Sania said, "I don't speak on these issues but no matter what people say we are very happy together and personally I am very satisfied and happy."

Sania and her family are presently in Karachi on a private visit with Shoaib, who is playing in the national T20 championship in the city.

Both the sportspersons also spoke about their desire to see their marriage helping in some way to bridge the troubled relations between Pakistan and India as a lot of things are common between the people of the two countries.

Sania, meanwhile, also talked about the successful doubles partnership between India's Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq in international tennis.

"I think what they are doing is creditable because them playing together shows that Pakistanis and Indians can get along well with each other," Sania said.

She also said that while it was difficult to see herself pairing up with Aisam on the international circuit, but not impossible.