Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, multiple posts (here, here) are being shared on social media claiming that cricketers from different nations have dedicated their victories to Israel in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. A post shared a purported tweet of Mohammed Siraj stating- “This was for our brothers and sisters in Israel,” and claims that Mohammed Siraj had dedicated India’s victory against Pakistan to Israel. Another post claims that cricketer Rashid Khan had dedicated Afghanistan’s victory against England to Israel, condemning the Hamas militants’ attack on Israel. Let’s verify the claims made in the post.
Claim: Mohammed Siraj and Rashid Khan have dedicated their victories to Israel by expressing their solidarity in light of the ongoing war with Palestine.
Fact: The purported tweet that dedicated India’s victory against Pakistan to Israel was made by a parody account of Mohammed Siraj. Rashid Khan too did not make any such statement in support of Israel. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Claim 1: Mohammed Siraj’s tweet dedicating India’s victory to Israel
When we searched to check whether Mohammed Siraj had made any such tweet dedicating India’s victory against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 to Israel, we could not find any on Mohammed Siraj’s official ‘X’ or on any of his other social media handles. On searching for the details of the tweet using the ‘X’ user ID seen in the screenshot, we found that the tweet was made by a parody account of Mohammed Siraj on 14 October 2023.
The ‘X’ user id (@iamMohdSiirajj) and the surname mentioned on this parody page are different from that of the official ‘X’ handle of Mohammed Siraj (@mdsirajofficial). Post India’s victory against Pakistan, Mohammed Siraj on his official ‘X’ handle tweeted– “3 W We continue the work.” Mohammed Siraj did not make any tweet or statement in support of Israel in its ongoing war with Palestine.
Claim 2: Rashid Khan dedicated Afghanistan’s victory to Israel
When we searched to check whether Afghanistan Cricketer Rashid Khan had made any such statement dedicating Afghanistan’s victory to Israel, we could not find any news report confirming such a statement from Rashid Khan. The image displays Rashid Khan’s name with the caption, ‘Afghanistan-3/37 v ENG Tonight’. After Afghanistan’s victory over England in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Rashid Khan dedicated their victory to Afghans saying– “Cricket is something that brings joy to the people back home. Winning the game against England is big for us. Recently, we had an earthquake back home. Over 3,000 people lost their lives, many houses were destroyed, so this win will put a little bit of smile on their faces and maybe, they can little bit forget those days.”
Rashid Khan did not make any statement expressing his support for Israel in its ongoing war with Palestine. ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ and many other organizations debunked these fake rumours about Rashid Khan making a statement in support of Israel in the ongoing war with Palestine.
To sum it up, parody tweets and fake statements are shared alleging that Mohammed Siraj and Rashid Khan have dedicated their victories to Israel.
