Meanwhile, Shoaib's family gets visas for 'star' wedding

Seven family members of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik have got their Indian visas for his wedding with tennis star Sania Mirza, which would be solemnised in Hyderabad on April 11.

Shoaib’s father, mother, sister and brother-in-law and their children are likely to visit Hyderabad for the star couple’s marriage, The News reports.

The Malik family is expected to arrive in India three days before the marriage in order to participate in traditional ceremonies and rituals, sources said.

Earlier, the Pakistan High Commission had denied Sania a visa for Sialkot, Shoaib’s home town where a reception (Valima) was to be held after the couple’s marriage.

Sania has only got visa for Lahore and Karachi following which the reception is likely to be shifted to Lahore.

Both Shoaib and Sania’s family are busy in finalising all issues concerning the marriage of the sports couple, which has dominated news headlines in both India and Pakistan since early this week.

Shoaib, who has been banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for a year,  is currently busy playing league cricket in Bangladesh, and is due to return to Pakistan within a few days.