India’s Beloved Celebrity Couple Rubina Dilaik, Abhinav Shukla Pick Up Pickleball as New Passion
It’s looking more and more like pickleball is becoming the sport of choice of India’s celebrities. Exhibit A: Cricket legend Virat Kohli and popular actress Anushka Sharma, who are arguably India’s most well-known and well-loved power couple, are hooked on pickleball and play it regularly.
Now, the equally lovely and popular celebrity couple of Rubina Dilaik and Abhinav Shukla appears to be into pickleball as well. A real-life couple, Dilaik and Shukla are charming audiences in India with their reality show Pati Patni Aur Pang, where their real-life chemistry is truly palpable and undeniable. Not for nothing that the couple has become Indian television’s most adored pair, with their show, which airs every Saturday and Sunday on Colors TV, becoming appointment viewing in many households.
Over the weekend, the two took time out from their packed, busy schedule and played some pickleball together with their “pickle partners”: actress Aakanksha Singh, fashion and lifestyle influencer Kudrat Bhandari, and professional Kunal Sain. Sain, who is married to Singh, was the one who introduced the power couple to the sport.
Dilaik next gave fans a glimpse of that weekend pickleball action, posting on Instagram pictures of herself on the court and a short video of a pickleball exchange between her and her hubby. She captioned the series of photos and video thus: “Sunday done right.”
Shukla did the same, posting on Instagram a video montage of his pickleball sessions with Dilaik along with a voiceover explaining how quickly he got hooked on pickleball, which he says is the perfect activity to stay fit and “young and agile.”
“Thank you Kunal Sain for pushing me to play this sport which imitates badminton! It will be my new aerobic for staying Young & Agile! PICKLEBALL! THIS IS NOT AN ADVT! BADMINTON STILL RANKS NO.1,” the actor wrote on Instagram.
Of course, it would’ve been even better if pickleball, not badminton, was no. 1 for Shukla. But the fact that he and Dilaik are into it already speaks volumes as to the growing popularity of pickleball in India. With their vast reach, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more of their fans start picking up a paddle, too.
