Who is Imran Tahir’s wife? Know all about Sumayya Dildar

Imran Tahir's wife, Sumayya Dildar used to be a model before she gave up her career to become a full-time homemaker. She is of Indian origin, but her nationality is South African.

Pakistan-born South African cricketer Imran Tahir has revealed that he still regrets not representing his home country despite the passion he holds for the game and his love for his nation.

Tahir, who still plays for Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), on Wednesday told Geo Super, “I used to play cricket in Lahore and it played a major role in where I am. I played most of my cricket in Pakistan but did not get a chance here. I am disappointed about that.”

Tahir lived in Lahore till 2005, advancing through the ranks of age-group cricket, even breaking into Pakistan’s U-19 and the ‘A’ side. However, an international call-up eluded him.

“It was hard leaving Pakistan, but God blessed me, and most of the credit for playing for South Africa goes to my wife,” Tahir said on Wednesday.

Tahir dated an India-origin woman Sumayya Dildar for two years and moved to South Africa – the country that offered him a chance to play international cricket in 2005. The leg-spinner married Sumayya on 20th January 2007.

Tahir became eligible to play for South Africa when he completed his four-year residence requirement in April 2009.

The 41-year-old has so far featured in 20 Tests, 107 ODIs and 38 T20Is for South Africa and has scalped 57, 173 and 63 wickets respectively in the three formats.

Apart from that, Tahir has represented Delhi Capitals (DC) and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) among which he won the trophy with the latter in 2018. He also set the record for representing eight different counties in the British Isles when he announced he was joining Surrey in 2019.

He retired from the ODI cricket after the completion of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup where South Africa finished seventh among the ten teams that participated in the tournament.

How did Imran Tahir meet his wife?

The story of how Imran Tahir met his future wife is undoubtedly the sweetest thing. While representing Pakistan, his country of origin, in the under-19 team, Imran had once gone to play in South Africa back in 1988. This was when he first met Sumayya and got weak in his knees. Even though it was love at first sight for the leg-spinner, it was not the same for her.

Soon after coming back from South Africa, Tahir realized he was missing her badly. For the next couple of years, he kept flying back and forth in order to be with her. By then, they were both already in love with each other.

When did Imran Tahir get married?

Sumayya refused to leave her country by any means. But that didn’t dishearten Tahir, such was his love for her. After years of dating, he officially moved to South Africa in 2006 to be with his lady love. The two finally tied the knot in 2007.

Tahir had to give up his dream of playing for Pakistan but didn’t lose hope of playing cricket again. He finally made it into the South African team in 2011. The couple is now blessed with a son, Gibran, and is happier than ever.

Is Sumayya Dildar an Indian?

Imran Tahir's wife, Sumayya Dildar is of Indian origin but hails from South Africa. The two met while Tahir was in South Africa to represent the under-19 Pakistan team. It is, however, not known if she was born in the country.