Heath Streak on his death reports: ‘Malicious social media rumours’
“Nothing wrong with me. Obviously, I still have cancer," the former Zimbabwe captain said.
Former Zimbabwe cricket team captain Heath Streak on Wednesday (August 23) termed reports of his death as “malicious” and said he is still battling cancer.
On Wednesday morning, former Zimbabwe fast bowler Henry Olonga had announced on social media that Streak had passed away. However, few hours later, he deleted the post on X (Twitter) and shared a screenshot of his conversation with Streak and said he is alive.
By the time Olonga had clarified, news had spread to all parts of the world and many former cricketers from India and other places had tweeted condolences to Streak’s family.
Seeing reports about his death, Streak told a journalist that he is battling cancer and urged not to believe the rumours.
“Nothing wrong with me. Obviously, I still have cancer. They are (reports of his death) malicious, social media rumours that shook people. They should not make statements without being verified,” Streak told Dean du Plessis. The audio clip of Streak speaking was shared on X.
In a report in Zimbabwean media, Streak’s mother Karen said her son is walking around and joking with them in their farm.
“Heath is here with us at the farm, he is not dead. He is walking around and joking with us. He has been battling cancer for a while and he is getting treatment at home and in South Africa. He is a fighter and he is doing great,” Karen was quoted as saying in Mbare Times.
“I don’t know who started this fake news and why they would do such a thing. It is very disturbing and disrespectful to Heath and his loved ones. I wish people would stop spreading lies and pray for his recovery instead,” she added.
Karen said she was getting a lot of phone calls from Streak’s friends and fans. She added that she was “shocked and saddened” by “malicious rumours” of his son’s death.
