Coincidental? Shoaib Malik posts pics with son showing Sania Mirza in background

Shoaib Malik, former Pakistan cricket captain, was seen hanging out with his son, Izhaan Mirza Malik, celebrating the little one's fifth birthday on Sunday.

In the glimpses shared from his son's big day, the cricketer was seen spending some much-needed quality time with him in what looks like the India tennis star Sania Mirza's home in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Taking to X, previously Twitter, Malik wrote: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY Beta... Baba loves you."

The cricketer shared four different photos with his five-year-old and made a heart emoji in the caption.

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.