Netizens gossip over photos Shoaib Malik shared on son's birthday

Former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik shared photographs celebrating his son Izhaan Mirza Malik's fifth birthday on Sunday.

The cricketer took to X, formerly Twitter, to share some glimpses from his son's big day and enjoying some quality time with him in what appears like Indian tennis star Sania Mirza's home in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY Beta... Baba loves you," Malik wrote on X followed by a heart emoji and four different images with Izhaan.

But something left netizens intrigued about the cricketer's oblivion towards his wife Sania who is seen moving around behind the father-son duo as the two posed with Izhaan's cake in the foreground.

Both the father and son seemed happy with each other, while Sania was seen carrying her sister's daughter. But she was not posing with the two, leaving their fans and followers deprived of a family photograph.

While a huge number of netizens wished Izhaan on his birthday, others pointed out and questioned why the celebrity athletes did not share a family photo on their son's big day, which was supposed to be a reunion of sorts for the family that divides their time between UAE, Pakistan and India separately.

The internet has remained curious about the sports pair's personal life for over a year now, often prying into their very private affairs.

A user, Ashok Raj Purohit, wrote: "No proper family photo?"

Another user named Uzi posted, "Saniya was added in the photo or kept out completely, what happened?".

In the comments on X, a user named Engineer Amjad wrote: "Malik today, your in-laws are very worried, it seems Sunday is going bad for them".

Another was shocked to not find a proper family photo. "What? This picture raise many questions??"

The former cricketer's family sources said that Shoaib Malik went to Dubai to celebrate his son's birthday and is returning to Pakistan immediately after celebrating his birthday.

Formerly called the power couple, Shoaib and Sania, have remained in the headlines for quite a time last year for the reports of their alleged separation.

The two members of the athlete fraternity tied the knot in 2010 and welcomed their son, Izhan Mirza-Malik in 2018.

However, after almost 12 years of marriage, their fans speculated Sania and Malik's relationship had gone sour in November 2022, following some of the events hinting something was not fine between them.

Despite the fans noticing some distance between the two, the cricketer rubbished the rumours multiple times and even posted messages for Sania on social media in a span of four to five months.