A post is being shared on social media claiming that Pakistan Cricket team captain Babar Azam has praised the Tamil Nadu government for sponsoring spectators to support their team during their matches in Chennai. The purported statement of Babar Azam thanks the local government for making their team feel Chennai as their home ground and states- “Even if we had the India Pakistan match here in Chennai, I’m sure we would have had equal support matching Indian supporters. We thank the local government for their support.” Babar Azam, Pakistan captain.” Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: A purported statement of Babar Azam thanking the Tamil Nadu government for sponsoring spectators in support of Pakistan during their matches in Chennai.
Fact: Babar Azam did not make any such statement thanking the Tamil Nadu government for allegedly sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai. Addressing the post-match press conference after the Pakistan vs. South Africa match in Chennai, Pakistan’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur praised the exceptional training facilities and the enthusiastic crowd in Chennai. Neither Babar Azam nor Mickey Arthur had spoken anything about sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched to check whether Babar Azam had made any such statement thanking the Tamil Nadu government for allegedly sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai, we could not find any news report confirming such a statement from Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
During the post-match press conference after the loss to Afghanistan in Chennai on 23 October 2023, Babar Azam said that the defeat hurt them and expressed his disappointment over bowlers not taking the wickets in the middle overs and teammates not showing attitude while fielding. However, Babar Azam never spoke about the Tamil Nadu government or sponsoring supporters for their matches in Chennai. The statements of Babar Azam during the post-match interviews after the matches with Afghanistan and South Africa can be seen here and here.
Pakistan’s Head Coach Mickey Arthur, while addressing the post-match press conference after their loss to South Africa on 27 October 2023, said that the training facilities and the crowd in Chennai were outstanding. Although there were many pictures showing supporters wearing Babar Azam jerseys during Pakistan matches at Chennai stadium, there are no reports on the Tamil Nadu government sponsoring supporters for Pakistan during their matches in Chennai.
To sum it up, Babar Azam did not make any statement thanking the Tamil Nadu government for sponsoring supporters during their matches in Chennai.
