Dubai: Meet Azhar Mahmood's Wife Whose Love Story Started At A Cricket Stadium

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) As Ebba Qureshi stepped out of the Royal Box at the Dubai International Stadium during a Desert Vipers ILT20 match, you could have been forgiven for asking if the heart still skips a beat every time she gets closer to the boundary rope.

Ebba, an experienced PR professional who is working with the Desert Vipers franchise on their sustainability initiatives in the UAE, still gets goosebumps talking about how her love story started on the boundary of a cricket stadium in England.

Born in the Middle East, Ebba experienced the horrors of hate and war in 1990 when her father had to drive for more than 20 days from Kuwait to Pakistan to escape the Gulf War.

Just days after that harrowing experience, the family settled down happily in England.

And nine years later, Cupid shot an arrow through her heart.

It was in 1999 that this British national went to The Oval (cricket ground in London) to support Pakistan, the country of her origin, during a World Cup match.

Little did she know that a game of cricket was going to change her life, sparking the start of a soul-stirring partnership with a cricketing star named Azhar Mahmood.

Azhar, a key member of the Pakistan coaching staff now, was the bowling all-rounder in that formidable Pakistani team at the 1999 World Cup.

Ebba was happy to hold a match ticket that day at The Oval to support Pakistan, without realising she was also holding the key to her future.

“If you remember correctly, Azhar never used to field at the boundary, he used to field in the slips always,” Ebba said.

“I don't know whether it was fate, whether it was meant to happen. And the match that I went to (at The Oval), he was actually there, just temporarily fielding at the boundary. And he saw me in the crowd because I was quite close to the boundary.”

Then in an incredible turn of events, Azhar met Ebba through a common friend and a connection was built which soon blossomed into something serious.

“It took me four years to convince my father about marriage. And finally, we got married in 2003. I know it's like a film. I can write a book,” she smiled.

Now happily married for more than 20 years, Ebba and Azhar are proud parents of three children - two teenage daughters (Inaaya Azhar 19, and Manha Azhar 13) and one eight-year-old son (Zaydaan).

And all of them took to cricket like a duck to water.

“My elder daughter was playing for Surrey (a county club in England) until she took a break for her A Level,” she said.

While seeing her elder daughter grow as a cricketer, Ebba also saw an opportunity to make a difference in society, using her husband's considerable impact as a former international star.

“The development I saw in my daughter as a child, from playing sport, pursuing cricket properly to developing life skills was an eye opener because the opportunities within the South Asian community to girls in sport are limited,” she said.

The couple soon launched initiatives to empower South Asian women in the UK through sports.

“Women empowerment was at the forefront for me in every work that I do, whether it's entrepreneurship or leadership. I spoke to Azhar, and he wanted to give back to the game in whatever way he could,” she said.

“So Azhar put a coaching curriculum together for our initiative, which is basically to empower girls through sports, to teach them leadership, life skills, improve their health, social well-being, mental well-being, but also to encourage them to stay active and fit. And we use cricket to do that.

“I'm also a trustee of a UK-based charity called 'Bat for a Chance' which empowers girls by providing them with cricket equipment in their schools to play cricket. So we went to schools in Pakistan and underprivileged areas and provided girls with all the equipment.

“You know I was working for women empowerment in entrepreneurship before, but sport was something that you really need a voice. And I felt that, because of Azhar, I had a voice. So Azhar was very, very influential for me, specifically in Pakistan, because the girls in schools just wanted to see the star come in and teach them.”

Ebba also had a role to play in UAE's women's cricket when the FairBreak Global, a cricket tournament launched to improve gender equality in the sport, was held in Dubai.

“I was head of marketing and strategy there, and we took on UAE players in the FairBreak event,” said Ebba, who is now the business development consultant at Desert Vipers

“We spent a lot of time with UAE-based coaches and UAE-based players to groom them and give them a chance to play with big stars. So we were empowering these younger players from the UAE.

“Currently, I'm also working with some girls' schools here in the UAE through Desert Vipers. It's phenomenal because we find that more and more girls are getting interested in cricket to play this beautiful sport.”

While Ebba used Azhar's voice in her work for women's empowerment through sports, she also played a key role in the former medium-pacer earning the rare distinction of becoming the only Pakistani cricketer in the Indian Premier League when players from Pakistan were barred from playing in the world's richest T20 league due to political tensions between the two countries.

For three seasons (2012, 2013 and 2015) Azhar made headlines not just for his probing spells, picking up 29 wickets in 23 matches, but also for being a Pakistan-born player in the IPL amid the never-ending tension between the two countries.

“During that time Azhar was the only Pakistani player in the IPL. It happened because he was registered with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) after he had received British citizenship,” Ebba said.

“I was very active in Azhar's sporting life after I got married to him because of my PR experience, and he's always been a man who likes to discuss his opportunities, career and stuff with me. So what happened was, when the IPL draft was taking place and Azhar had become an ECB-registered player, I asked his agent to put his name on the IPL draft. He had a British passport. And you know, he was picked by the IPL.”

The IPL was an experience Ebba would never forget.

From attending parties with Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Preity Zinta to seeing the absolute craze for cricket at the stadiums, Ebba says it was 'surreal' to be in India.

“We were looked after so well by the team owners (Preity Zinta in Kings XI Punjab and Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla in Kolkata Knight Riders),” she said.

“And the atmosphere was amazing. The way they fill up the stadiums and the support that these teams have is incredible. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

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