I am alive, says Heath Streak after false reports of death
The news of the demise of former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak, which was covered by multiple leading news agencies and media, has been confirmed to be false.
It was earlier reported that Streak, who is battling with cancer, had breathed his last, with tributes pouring in from his former teammates, opponents and admirers on social media.
One of those teammates, former Zimbabwe pacer Henry Olonga, had paid tribute to Streak on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Later, Olonga removed his tribute post and in its place posted a screenshot of his conversation with Heath Streak on WhatsApp, confirming that Streak is alive and well.
Streak also spoke with Indian media Mid-Day where he rubbished the news of his passing and demanded an apology from the source that circulated this news.
“It’s a total rumour and lie – I am alive and well, I am very upset to learn that something as big as someone apparently passing can be spread unverified especially in our day and age – I believe the source should apologise, I am hurt by the news,” Mid-Day quoted Streak.
The Zimbabwean all-rounder is the all-time leading Test wicket-taker for his country. He took 216 wickets and scored 1,990 runs in 65 Tests between 1993-2005. He also played in 189 One-Day Internationals (ODI), scoring 2,943 runs and taking 239 wickets.
Post-retirement Streak served as Bangladesh’s fast bowling coach and was the bowling coach of twice Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
In 2021 he was given an eight-year ban from the sport after admitting breaches of the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption code. He took “full responsibility” for his actions but said he was never involved in any attempts to fix matches.