Pakistan’s former cricket captain, Shoaib Malik, and his wife, former Indian tennis player Sania Mirza, came together to mark their son Izhaan Mirza Malik’s fifth birthday.
In the pictures shared by Malik on X (formerly Twitter), the cricketer can be seen posing with the birthday boy. The two are standing at a table with a customised cake. We also get a glimpse of Sania holding her niece Dua. “Happy birthday, beta. Baba loves you,” Shoaib wrote along with a heart emoji.
The cricketer, who is part of the World Cup expert panel in Pakistan Sports Channel A Sports, took a break from the show and flew down to Dubai to be part of the celebration.
Sania also posted a series of pictures with her little bundle of joy and wrote on Instagram, “Happy birthday to the brightest star of our lives. No matter how dark it is around me, your smile makes it all better. I am so grateful to Allah for blessing me with you. Thank you for showing me what unconditional love truly means, you have my heart forever my baby boy. Every year I will hold you a little closer, hug you a little tighter while helping you find your wings In sha Allah. May Allah bless you always.”
Social media users expressed their love and admiration for little Izhaan seeing the adorable post. Some also pointed out the much-talked-about rift between Shoaib and Sania. “No proper family photo,” asked one person. The fact that neither Shoaib nor Sania shared a family picture during the celebration fanned the rumours further.
Rumours of the couple’s alleged divorce have been rife since 2022. Amid those speculations, an OTT platform had announced last year that Shoaib and Sania will host a talk show together. ‘Urduflix,’ an app which provides subscription-based service, shared a post saying that Shoaib and Sania will feature in a show named ‘The Mirza Malik Show’. The post was shared in November last year.
Earlier this year, a subtle change in Shoaib’s Instagram bio had once again fueled speculations of a reported divorce with Sania. Fans were quick to point out that Shoaib had removed “Husband to a superwoman @mirzasaniar” from his bio and changed it to: “Father to One True Blessing.”
The power couple got married in 2010 and lived in Dubai ever since. They had welcomed their son Izhaan five years back. Sania signed off from her professional tennis career earlier this year in February at the Australian Open.
Malik, on the other hand, announced his retirement from ODIs in 2019. The 41-year-old played his last Test match in November 2015.