Pakistani pace bowler Umar Gul marries Dubai doctor

Dubai: Pakistani fast bowler Umar Gul has married a Dubai-based doctor in a simple ceremony attended by close friends and family in Peshawar, Indian and Pakistani media reported on Sunday.

Gul, 26, led the groom's procession to the Peshawar Garrison Club, where the wedding ceremony was held, the Times of India reported, quoting family sources.

Following a colourful musical programme at the club, he took his bride home. Asked by reporters about his wife's name, Gul said: "Don't ask about her name. It is not considered good in Pashtun."

According to Pakistan Tribune, Gul met his bride in Dubai, where her father runs a construction business.

"I am very happy, it is both love and arranged marriage," he told reporters, adding: "I have become financially sound, that's why I am marrying now."

The newspaper quoted sources as saying that the bride's is from the Swat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, sports minister Syed Aaqil Shah and local cricketers attended the ceremony.

The "walima" or reception by the groom's family will be held at Green Garden in the Army Garrison Park on Sunday.

Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Yasir Hameed, Wajahatullah Wasti and several others, along with national selector Farrukh Zaman, are expected to attend the ceremony.

The provincial governor and chief minister too have been invited to the event, according to reports.