Smriti Mandhana confirms wedding is 'called off'; Palash Muchhal says 'decided to move on'

Any speculation over the marriage of ace India cricketer Smriti Mandhana with music composer Palash Muchhal has now been put to rest. The couple have confirmed on social media that their wedding has indeed been "called off" and they have "decided to move on'.

Mandhana broke her silence over her marriage with music composer Palash Muchhal on social media, confirming that their families have called off the wedding. In her post, however, she did not cite any reason for the cancellation of the wedding.

Palash Muchhal too shared a long note on his Instagram stories. He said that he has "decided to move on" and is "stepping back from his personal relationship".

Wedding cancelled

Speculation was rife over the duo’s marriage, which was scheduled on November 23. However, on the day of the wedding, Smriti’s father fell ill and had to be admitted to a hospital in their hometown of Sangli, Maharashtra.

The wedding got postponed, and soon after, Palash also fell ill and had to be rushed to the hospital. Social media was also abuzz with talk of a third person in their relationship, with cheating allegations against Palash, and Smriti’s removal of all wedding-related posts from her social media accounts adding further fuel to the speculation.

Also read: Speculation mounts after Smriti Mandhana deletes pre-wedding posts

While revealing that the wedding has been cancelled, the 29-year-old left-handed opening batter requested privacy and said she would like to end the matter.

'Would like to close this matter here'

In a post on Instagram on Sunday (December 7), she said, “Over the past few weeks there has been plenty of speculation around my life and I feel it is important for me to speak out at this time. I am a very private person and I would like to keep it that way but I need to clarify that the wedding is called off."

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"I would like to close this matter here and implore all of you to do the same. I request you to please respect the privacy of both families at this time and allow us the space to process and move on at our own pace,” she added.

“I believe there is a higher purpose driving us all and for me that has always been representing my country at the highest level. I hope to continue to play and win trophies for India for as long as possible and that is where my focus will forever be. Thank you for all your support. It's time to move forward,” Smriti, who finished as the second-highest scorer in the recent Women’s World Cup that India lifted at home, concluded.

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Palash reacts

While Palash said in his statement: "I have decided to move on in my life and step back from my personal relationship. It's been very difficult for me to see people react so easily on baseless rumours about something which has been most sacred to me. It's the most difficult phase of my life, and I will deal with it gracefully, holding on to my beliefs. I truly hope we, as a society, learn to pause before judging someone based on unverified gossip, whose sources are never identified. Our words can wound in ways we may never understand."

He added, "While we think about these things, many people in the world are facing drastic consequences. My team will be taking strict legal action against those spreading false and defamatory content. Thank you to everyone who has stood by me with kindness in this tough time."

Smriti returns to Instagram

A few days ago, Smriti returned to Instagram with a promotional video, and many fans pointed out that she was not wearing her engagement ring there. It was though not clear whether the video was shot before or after her engagement with Palash.

Her marriage was set to take place just weeks after the team's glory.

Smriti, who is the vice captain of the India national side, has played seven Tests, 117 one-day internationals and 153 T20s and scored nearly 10,000 international runs with 17 hundreds.