Name of Durani’s wife correct, but is this woman his ex?

India cricket stalwart Salim Durani who passed away in 2023 is once again in the news after a video of a woman claiming to be his wife went viral on social media The woman mdash identified as Rekha Shrivastava mdash was recently found begging on the streets of Belapur While those known to the cricketer say his first wifersquos name was indeed Rekha no one is sure if the woman making the claims is his actual first wifeHelp Drive Foundation the NGO that traced Rekharsquos daughter confirmed that the woman is Duranirsquos former wife and that she is collecting documentary evidence The NGO staff told midday that Rekhas daughter saw her after 40 years through the footageThe viral videoldquoMy name is Rekha Shrivastava I am the wife of cricketer Salim Durani We lived in a bungalow and met the king of Gujarat and ministers regularly My husband died two years ago I sold my bungalow and now I have nothing Earlier I worked with an airlinerdquo the woman said in the video She is currently living in a Navi Mumbai shelter homeA helping handTarun Mishra founder of the Help Drive Foundation said ldquoDuring our interaction she revealed that she is the former wife of Durani Her daughter who lives in Mumbai contacted us and confirmed that the woman is her 84yearold mother She had married Durani but they later separated We are now collecting documentary evidence from Rekharsquos daughter and Duranirsquos relatives in Jamnagar to verify the relationshiprdquoRekha Shrivastava who claims to be the first wife of the late cricketer PicBY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTAccording to Mishra the NGO received a call from Indian former cricketer Ajay Jadeja who said the woman resembled Duranirsquos wife Rekha and expressed his willingness to help her ldquoShe needs shelter food and a peaceful life which we are trying to providerdquo he addedRekharsquos daughter allegedly told the NGO staff that her mother lived in a bungalow in Khar but she later lost contact with her ldquoShe also said that her mother was very wealthy but how she lost all her property remains a mysteryrdquo Mishra said adding that until there is documentary proof one cannot conclusively say that the woman is Duranirsquos wifelsquoSeems like RekharsquoWhen midday contacted friends of Durani they stated that Rekha was indeed his first wifersquos name However they were unsure whether the woman seen in the viral video is the same person as Rekha is now 84 years old and most people last met her 4050 years agoRamyar Balsara a friend of Duranirsquos told midday ldquoI am sure his wifersquos name was Rekha and the woman in the video looks very similar I cannot confirm if she is the same person but if she is his wife she deserves respect and support I also remember their daughterrdquoBalsara added ldquoI was in regular contact with Salim after his retirement from cricket When he received a large sum of money from the Board of Control for Cricket in India I advised him to invest it in a fixed deposit scheme at the SBI Jamnagar branch He survived on the interest I started playing cricket because he inspired me He was allowed to travel free of cost in the firstclass on Indian Railways but always chose to travel in secondclass standing near the door His lifestyle was very simple I am willing to help his wiferdquoGarnering supportDimple Bhatia another friend of Durani said from Jamnagar ldquoHe got married when I was a child I do not know whether the woman claiming to be his wife is genuine He spent most of his life in Mumbai If she is truly his wife I feel very bad about her conditionrdquoMeanwhile former cricketer Deepan Bhatt stated ldquoDurani visited Khar Gymkhana regularly He was our close friend and we played cricket together We have seen the viral video of the woman claiming to be his wife Most of the information she shared is correct but we are not certain about her identity We are checking with Gymkhana members and former players to confirm the truthrdquoA close friend of the Durani family speaking on condition of anonymity told midday ldquoI have seen the video forwarded to me She is Rekha Duranirsquos first wife Over the years we lost touch I do not have any photographs of her or her daughterrdquoRekha is believed to be suffering from Alzheimerrsquos and memory loss and while Durani will be fondly remembered for his cricket skills and good nature the video clip featuring Rekha will not be forgotten in a hurryOfficialSpeakSpeaking with midday Senior Police Inspector Arun Pawar of CBD Belapur police station said ldquoWe got information about this woman from an NGO that admitted her to a shelter home We didnrsquot find any documents or identification cards on her She needs medical treatment We are checking with her relatives and friends whether she is Duranirsquos wife But we have no evidence until now We will reunite her with her family once we know morerdquoRekha Shrivastava PicBY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTDurani family refutes claimsIn an exclusive conversation with midday Duranirsquos nephew Sajid Khan Durani has refuted the claims in the video calling them ldquototally fakerdquoSpeaking over the phone from Jamnagar Gujarat Sajid who fondly referred to his late uncle as lsquoMota Bapursquo clarified the familyrsquos position and shared details about Duranirsquos personal life ldquoFor the last two days a viral video on social media has been giving out some very wrong information about Salim Duranirsquos personal life He was my uncle He got divorced from his first wife long ago and got married again to Manjula Dharamsey She was a doctor and passed away long ago Since then my uncle was residing with us at our Jamnagar homerdquolsquoNot the onersquoSajid however acknowledged that Duranirsquos first wifersquos name was Rekha but emphasised that she had no role to play in his later life ldquoHis first wifersquos name was Rekha but this lady is not the one And chaalo ek baar maan bhi lete hain ke woh Durani ki wife thi and even if we consider that she was his wife where was she when my uncle expired She has now come into the picture all of a suddenrdquolsquoGot divorced anywayrsquoStressing on the legal reality of the matter Sajid said ldquoThe most important thing is that my uncle and Rekha got legally divorced and she Rekha got married elsewhere So officially going by the law Rekha was no longer his wife How can she claim now that hersquos her husband My uncle later got married to Manjula and they too got divorced later So whatever this lady is trying to project is totally wrongrdquolsquoPitiable but fakersquoSajid also questioned Rekharsquos lack of connection with the family ldquoDoes she know where we reside in Gujarat Does she know the names of any of our family members My uncle was an internationally recognised sportsman so many people know his personal details I pity the old lady mdash she must be the same age as my late mother mdash but this piece of news doing the rounds is fakerdquo he concludedSalim Durani passed away in Jamnagar on April 2 2023 He played 29 Test matches between 1960 and 1973 He was a slow leftarm orthodox bowler and a lefthanded batsman widely known for hitting sixes on demandOn a lighter notehellipSalim Durani used to live on rent at my grandfatherrsquos house on Turner Road Bandra West In 1972 he took me to watch a Test match He drank four bottles of beer and then went on to score 73 said Ramyar Balsara a friendDimple Bhatia another friend said Salim was the only cricketer who played according to fansrsquo demands He would hit sixes in the direction from where fans asked for sixes Once when he was dropped from the team fans protested by chanting lsquoNo Durani No Testrsquo I was his friend and also a fan