Sushmita bowled over by Wasim Akram?

Spotted together a little too often, Sushmita Sen and Wasim Akram may be the latest actress-cricketer jodi in B-Town

Spotted together a little too often, Sushmita Sen and Wasim Akram may be the latest actress-cricketer jodi in B-Town

The friendship between Sushmita Sen and Wasim Akram that began on the sets of a dance-based reality show Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina in 2008 has now moved to the next level. The duo has been spotted together several times in recent times enough to give rise to speculation.

pic/ Viral Bhayani

They were seen bonding at Shah Rukh Khan's house party recently. Followed by a dinner at a Bandra restobar, and then at the birthday party of a model-friend of the actress.

Their first tryst
The Pakistan ex-cricket captain is spending more time in the city in his capacity as the bowling coach for Shah Rukh Khan's IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. He first met the actress in 2006 in Dubai for a charity event and they stayed in touch. Their camaraderie and chemistry was visible on a show that they judged together. But nothing happened at the time as he was still married, and the actress was involved with her Dulha Mil Gaya director Mudassar Aziz.u00a0

Earlier this month, Wasim and Sush walked in together for Candice Pinto's birthday party. Both seemed totally relaxed in each other's company and were seen having a good time.

Sush was the reason...
It is learnt that Sush was the reason Wasim even agreed to do the reality show. "It was first offered to her, and she insisted that they take Wasim as the other judge. Their chemistry was natural and he loved flirting with her even on camera. Apart from their love of cricket, they also share a love for Urdu poetry. During the shoot of EKEH, Wasim would read out couplets to her during breaks and keep her entertained."u00a0

An eye-witness who spotted then at a dinner last week says they looked happy in each other's company. Looks like Wasim who lost his wife to cancer last year is finally ready to move on.
Sushmita Sen remained unavailable for comment.

When B-Town met Cricket

Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
Sharmila married Mansoor at the peak of her film career. Sharmila even converted to Islam so she could marry Mansoor. Naysayers predicted the marriage would not last, but the duo have been happily married for more than 40 years now and have three childrenu00a0-- Saif, Soha and Saba.

Reena Roy and Mohsin Khan
Reena Roy gave up a flourishing career to marry Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan in 1983. When Mohsin failed to make it as an actor and his family refused to accept Reena, the two divorced. Their daughter Jannat lives in Mumbai with Reena.

Sangeeta Bijlani and Mohammad Azharuddin
Sangeeta was a successful model when she met Azharuddin. The two had an affair even though Azhar was already married. Azhar then divorced his first wife and married Sangeeta.

Neena Gupta and Vivian Richards
Neena had a rollicking affair with the much-married West Indian batsman Sir Vivian Richards. The two even have a daughter, Masaba, but despite their serious relationship, did not tie the knot.

Amrita Singh and Ravi Shastri
Ravi was a successful cricketer and Amrita an aupcoming actress when they met in the late '80s. They even admitted to their relationship publicly. However, for reasons best known to them, they broke up and married other partners.

Nagma and Sourav Ganguly
Sourav, who was married to Dona when he met Nagma, always denied he was in an extramarital relationship, but Nagma stated publicly that there was indeed something between them. With media speculation on their relationship taking at toll on Sourav's career, the two soon broke up.
u00a0
Kim Sharma and Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj and Kim were spotted cosying up together on more than one occasion. There was even speculation that the two were serious about tying the knot, but Yuvraj's family did not approve of Kim and the romance ended.

Isha Sharvani and Zaheer Khan
Zaheer and Isha were spotted enjoying intimate dinners in various parts of Mumbia for more than a year. Isha always welcomed Zaheer at the airport when he returned from international tours. But the relationship was short-lived and the couple soon split.

Amrita Arora and Usman Afzal
Amrita and Usman, a cricketer based in England, met at a common friend's party and hit if off instantly. Usman became a regular at various functions of the Khan-daan and was spotted by her side at various events. But a year into their relationship, the duo split.

Zeenat Aman and Imran Khan
Zeenat and Imran were in a serious relationship that onlookers expected to lead to marriage. Much to everyone's surprise, that did not happen. Imran went onto marry English heiress Jemima Goldsmith and Zeenat had a disastrous marriage with Mazhar Khan.

Anju Mahendroo and Garfield Sobers
Anju was just 17 years old when she met Gary Sobers in 1966. She broke off her engagement to Rajesh Khanna so she could accept Gary's proposal. With Gary playing county cricket in England and Anju in India, the long-distance relationship did not last. Gary is now divorced from his Australian wife, while Anju is still single. The two remain friends even today.

--u00a0Asha Mahadevan