Ex-cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin may have hit headlines recently for expressing a desire to coach Team India, but gossip mills are also abuzz with the former Indian skipper’s close friendship with Delhi-based American expat, Shannon Marie Talwar.

Celebrity news blog fashionscandal.com has published these undated photos of Azhar holidaying in Paris with the woman who, besides being a certified teacher of ‘transformational yoga’, also runs a clothing brand in Noida and is frequently seen in the Delhi social circuit.

Azharuddin, who turns 50 on February 8, was first married to Hyderabad-based Naureen, who he divorced after 9 years of marriage to tie the knot with model-actor Sangeeta Bijlani in 1996. His marriage to Bijlani, however, lasted 14 years and the couple separated in 2010. He was briefly linked to badminton player Jwala Gutta afterwards, though the rumoured affair was strongly denied both by Gutta and Azhar.

A sitting MP from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Mohammad Azharuddin did not respond to our messages for a comment on the rumours about his friendship with Shannon Marie. The latter, when contacted, said, “Yes I’m friends with Azhar. I have lots of friends, and I don’t have to explain the nature of my friendship to you.” However, she called back again and claimed that the photos are morphed and that the two never went on a holiday. HT City could not independently verify the authenticity of the photos.

(With inputs from Neha Sharma)