'Ayesha on TV is not the same girl Shoaib loved'

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has backed Shoaib Malik in his ongoing marriage row with Ayesha Siddiqui, saying the girl being shown on TV channels is not the one his team-mate fell in love with during internet and telephone chats.

Rashid said he had seen the photographs of the girl with whom Shoaib used to chat with on the internet.

"Shoaib Malik used to borrow my laptop for chatting with a girl and he did show me a few pictures of her. I can assure you that the girl I saw in pictures is not the one on TV these days," Rashid told a private news channel.

Rashid urged fellow cricketers to come forward and support Shoaib, who is set to marry Indian tennis star Sania Mirza next week in Hyderabad, and he offered his services in this regard.

"I can go to any forum including a court of law to reiterate my statement, and I appeal to all cricketers to stand by Shoaib Malik on this issue," he said.

Ayesha claims Shoaib married her over the phone and later dumped her due to her weight problems without taking a formal divorce.

Shoaib, on the other hand, maintains that he never committed himself to the Ayesha who is making these claims currently as he was sent photographs of a different lady during the relationship that grew over telephone conversations and internet chats.

Ayesha has filed an FIR against the all-rounder alleging fraud and criminal intimidation which has led to his passport being confiscated.