Shonali Nagrani

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shonali Nagrani

• Shonali Nagrani has loved cricket since she was a child. She developed an interest in the sport while watching it with her father, grandfather, and uncle as she grew up.

  

• Her brother Karan and mother Rina have completely lost their vision due to Retinitis Pigmentosa, a disease that causes progressive vision loss.

 

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• At the age of 6, Shonali once tried to run away from home after an argument with her parents. She took her father’s chequebook as she thought she could buy anything just by signing it.

• Shonali attended about 13 schools due to her father’s transfer as an Indian Navy officer. She completed her 10th, 11th, and 12th grades at the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi.

• She actively participated in various extracurricular activities, including dance, during her school days.

  

• Shonali has participated in many beauty pageants. In 2002, she won the Miss Delhi and May Queen titles.

• In 2003, she won the Femina Miss India International. In the same year, she emerged as the 1st runner-up at the Miss International.

  

• Shonali initially wanted to become a lecturer. Later, she aimed to become a newsreader and writer for which she even gave up modelling and turned down a few film offers early in her career.

• In 2004, Shonali appeared in the music video for Lucky Ali’s popular pop song ‘Teri Yaad Jab Aati Hai.’

  

• In 2006, she started hosting cricket shows with the ICC Champions Trophy, a One Day International cricket tournament.

  

• Shonali started her career as a television presenter with the show ‘Popcorn’ on Zoom TV.

• In 2007, she entered the General Entertainment Channel (GEC) by hosting a stand-up comedy series titled ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge,’ which aired on STAR One (now Star Bharat).

• Shonali has hosted many other shows like the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), which was held in Dubai in 2007 and was aired on StarPlus.

• She once hosted television shows like Sony Entertainment Television’s Mr. and Ms. TV and Star One’s Salaam-e-Ishq.

• She has hosted other cricket shows like the ICC Cricket World Cup (2007) and Extraaa Innings T20 (2008).

• Shonali appeared as a commentator in the film ‘Dil Bole Hadippa!’ in 2009.

  

• In 2009, Shonali hosted a cricket show called ‘Stumped’ on ESPN and Star Cricket (now Star Sports 3), which covered the highlights of the ICC World Twenty20; she hosted the show along with Wasim Akram, a Pakistani cricket commentator and coach.

• In 2010, she co-hosted an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup analysis show with a comedian and satirist, Cyrus Broacha; the show aired on ESPN Star Sports.

• In 2011, she participated in the reality show ‘Bigg Boss 5,’ which aired on Colors TV.

  

• In 2011, Shonali became the first female co-host of the Indian Premier League when she joined ITV aka Channel 3 to co-host the tournament coverage alongside Matt Smith, a British presenter; she has hosted the IPL on Channel 3 for four seasons since 2011.

  

• In 2011 and 2012, she was listed among the 50 Most Desirable Women by The Times of India.

• In 2013, she met Prince Charles during his visit to India.

  

• In 2018, she appeared as ‘Maria’ in a short film titled ‘Bloody Swine.’

  

• Shonali has also been part of some plays like Sakharam Binder (2019).

  

• Shonali and director Shiraz Bhattacharya ended their six years of marriage in February 2019 and later filed for divorce. They separated because Shonali was experiencing mental exhaustion and wanted to focus on her career; they were granted a divorce in 2023.

• In 2021, she played the role of Naina Kapoor in ZEE5’s black comedy web series ‘Sunflower.’

  

• Shonali is an avid traveller and often shares her travelling experiences on social media.

  

• She loves animals and has two pet dogs named Lucy and Oliver.

  

• She consumes alcohol occasionally.

  

• She is afraid of snakes.

• She loves baking and frequently shares her creations on social media.

  

• Shonali is a fitness enthusiast and often hits the gym.

 

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