South African cricketer Bjorn Fortuin, wife embraces Islam

New Delhi: South African cricketer Bjorn Fortuin has embraced Islam along with his wife, Mieshke Aysen, in the holy month of Ramadan. His new name is Imaad.

He confirmed his conversion on Instagram. Fortuin’s teammate Tabraiz Shamsi’s wife shared a photo of Fortuin with his wife, which Fortuin’s reshared. Shamsi’s wife was congratulating the couple for accepting Islam in the holy month of Ramadan. There it was said: “Last night Bjorn took his Shahada. Alhamdulillah, and during the month of Ramadan. He chose the name Imaad. So proud of you.” His wife’s name is Mieshke Aysen who reshared the same picture on Instagram.

Fortuin is the second South African cricketer who have accepted Islam as religion. Earlier, pacer Wayne Parnell accepted Islam back in 2011.

Fortuin is a handy all-rounder from Paarl in South Africa, Bjorn Fortuin made his first-class debut in 2013. The right-handed batsman didn’t have an ideal debut as he was dismissed for a duck in his debut innings. He wasn’t able to bag any wickets on debut either.

In August 2019 he was named in SA’s T20I squad for their series against India. He made his ODI debu against England, on 7 February 2020.