MUMBAI :Cricket is in the blood of Indians. They simply love the game and with the on-going ICC Cricket World Cup, the craze for the game is easy to see. Cricketers have achieved celebrity status in no time and have as much popularity and fan following as any other Hindi film star. However there is an Afghanistan Cricketer who played for India, later became a film star and was rumored to have an affair with a top heroine of his time.

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The cricketer we are talking about is Salim Dirani. He was born in Khyber Pass on the Afghan-Pak border and played Test cricket for India in the 1960s and 70s. Salim moved to India and grew up in Jamnagar. He played domestic cricket for India and played domestic cricket for Gujarat and Rajasthan after making his debut in 1953. 

In 1969, the dashing Durani made his acting debut in the film Ek Masoom opposite Tanuja. The film also starred Jagdeep, Abhi Bhattacharya, Prem Chopra, and Helen. The film failed to make a mark on the box office and his cricket career seemed to decline as well. He returned to the big screens with the film Charitra opposite glamor queen Parveen Babi.

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Several rumors surfaced that Durani and Parveen were having an affair, however the cricketer denied it saying it was not true and they were never in love or involved. 

Their film tanked and Durani never tried acting again. 

He then continued playing the Ranji Trophy before retiring at the age of 43. In 2011 Salim Durani was awarded the C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award by the BCCI. he passed away in 2023 at the age of 88.

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Credit-DNA