Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; January 11, 2016)

Rumours of Huma Qureshi and Sohail Khan’s romance have kept gossip mills buzzing for nearly a year. The two reportedly came close after she was signed on as the face of the actor-producer’s franchise, Mumbai Heroes in the Celebrity Cricket League. But now we hear the curvy actress has been replaced by Kriti Sanon as the team’s brand ambassador.

While his wife Seema recently went on record to say that she does not think there is anything special between Sohail and Huma, rumours insist that he has showered lavish gifts on the actress and the list includes a house and a car. Huma, on her part, also rubbished the link-up buzz and said that Sohail was like an elder brother to her.

Vikas Kapoor, a co-owner of Mumbai Heroes, says signing Kriti as the franchise’s new face is purely a management call. “Every year, we bring a new brand ambassador on board, hence the change. For the first year, we had Sonakshi Sinha, followed by Kangana Ranaut, Chitrangada Singh, Lisa Haydon for the second, third and fourth seasons. Last year, it was Huma and now, we have Kriti,” he says.

We, however, wonder if the annual tradition of appointing a new brand ambassador is mere coincidence!