Indian fast bowler Mohammad Shami, sidelined from cricket due to an ankle injury, secured the ‘Cricketer of the Year’ accolade at the Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) in Lucknow on Friday.
The award to the veteran bowler was presented by none other than Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. However, social media, particularly on platform X (formerly Twitter), is buzzing with discussions about photographs capturing the UP CM handing the award to Shami along with what seems to be a tennis racquet.
This has reignited netizens’ imagination about a potential marriage between the cricketer and tennis ace Sania Mirza, who recently made headlines with the public announcement of her divorce from Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik in January.
While most fans congratulated Shami for this accomplishment, a few were quick to point out the Yonex racquet that was handed over to the Indian pacer.
“Congratulations but Yonex ka tennis ya badminton racquet kyu diya,” said one user on X.
Another added, “Tennis Racket to a Bowler? Yogi ji hinting towards a Tennis Player-Cricketer love story?”