Meet Asser Malik, the Man Who Married Malala Yousafzai
Asser Malik is a lifelong fan of English football club Newcastle United.
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On 9 November, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai announced her marriage to Asser Malik in England, in a private ceremony. While it caught almost everyone by surprise, it also made many curious about her husband.
The first glimpses of the couple were through social media, as Malala posted pictures from the post-wedding photoshoot.
“Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. We celebrated a small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham with our families. Please send us your prayers. We are excited to walk together for the journey ahead,” she tweeted.
Asser also posted a picture on Twitter with Malala which shows them cutting a cake together.
“In Malala, I found the most supportive friend, a beautiful and kind partner — I'm so excited to spend the rest of our life together. Thank you all for the wishes on our Nikkah. In following our cricket team's tradition, we had to do a victory cake cutting,” he wrote.
Who Is Asser Malik?
Asser, who is a Newcastle United fan for life, is currently the General Manager High Performance for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), where he had started working in 2020.
Asser is also credited with having worked out the player development programme for Multan Sultans, a Pakistani professional T20 franchise cricket team.
As an entrepreneur, Asser has worked extensively in the sports industry and “skilled in sports management and developing unique concepts and ideas,” according to his LinkedIn profile.
He was also the managing director of a player-management agency and franchise owner in the amateur league Last Man Stands, according to ESPN Cricinfo.
Extremely passionate about cricket, Asser, has worked extensively in helping develop grassroots cricket in Pakistan, especially in low-income areas such as South Punjab.
Asser is clearly well loved amongst his colleagues as well with Haider Azhar of the Multan Sultans in the PSL and former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani, both of whom had only good things to say about him.
“A thorough gentleman with an excellent educational background,” Azhar was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Asser’s Instagram posts reveal that he and Malala have known each other for a few years, with a picture showing them as part of a group cheering on Pakistan at the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.
Asser reportedly is from Lahore and has studied in the Aitchison College and then Lahore University of Management Sciences.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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