Australian cricketer James Faulkner has officially denied rumors about his sexuality after he found himself entangled in a controversy over a social media post. The 2015 World Cup-winning all-rounder's 29th birthday celebration post on Instagram caused quite a sensation on Monday as he captioned a photo by writing, “Birthday dinner with the boyfriend @robjubbsta and my mother @roslyn_carol_faulkner #togetherfor5years.”

The ambiguous post went viral across social media and led to the speculation that the Australian cricketer has come out with his same-sex relationship. A majority of media outlets in different countries published the story of the Tasmanian cricketer being a “gay” and attributed the subtle use of the word “boyfriend” and the hashtag of“#togetherfor5years” to his sexuality and his relationship with fellow Aussie Rob Jubb.

In fact, several news articles in major online publications in Australia and around the world found their sports headline in the speculative story of the left-arm fast bowler being the first Australian professional cricketer to reveal publicly that he's not straight.

However, a day later, Faulkner not only edited the post to add “(best mate!!!)” in reference to Jubb and also clarified that he and his friend are business partners and close friends, but not in a relationship.

Ending the “gay” speculations, Faulkner wrote on Instagram: “There seems to be a misunderstanding about my post from last night, I am not gay, however, it has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LBGT community. Let's never forget love is love, however, @robjubbsta is just a great friend. Last night marked five years of being housemates! Good on everyone for being so supportive.”

Meanwhile, the governing body of Australian cricket, the Cricket Australia (CA) has also released an apology statement through their spokesperson Karina Keisler. Her statement read, “Cricket Australia does not consider the social commentary this morning from James Faulkner to be a joke, nor does James.”

“His comment was made as a genuine reflection of his relationship with his business partner, best friend and housemate of five years. He was not contacted for clarification before some outlets reported his Instagram post as an announcement of a homosexual relationship.”

The CA also mentioned, “James and CA are supportive of the LGBQTI community and recognizes coming out can be an incredibly emotional time. The post was not in any way meant to make light of this and, though the support from the community was overwhelming and positive.”

However, in the end, there was an apology on the CA's behalf as they said, “Cricket Australia apologizes for any unintended offense.”

Even though both Faulkner and the CA cleared the air over his sexuality, many believe that Faulkner was forced to issue a clarification under pressure from some quarters in order to be selected for the Australian cricket team in future as being an open gay would have jeopardized his career.