MOVE over Imran Khan, the Lion of Lahore. Boom Boom is the big cat now.

Former Pakistan cricket Shahid ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi has been pictured with a lion. In his house.

Afridi, who has more than 1 million Twitter followers, posted the pictures two days ago with a message urging people to take care of animals.

The caption read: "Great to spend time with loved ones. Best feeling in the world to have my daughter copy my wicket-taking celebrations. And yes don't forget to take care of animals, they too deserve our love and care."

A third picture of Afridi with the lion also emerged.

While there was some awe amongst the comments - ‘Is that a pet lion?!! How cool is that!!’ - there was also a serve of outrage from animal activists.

It’s not clear where the animals come from but a Pakistan cricket journalist posted an unverified response stating that the animals don’t belong to Afridi.

The big-hitting all-rounder retired from international cricket in 2017, although he did captain a Rest of the World XI match in May.

Afridi still plays domestic T20 matches and was famous for his celebration after taking a wicket, the pose that his daughter was copying.