A photo is being shared on social media claiming that the picture shows Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan waving the Indian flag after Afghanistan defeated Pakistan during the ICC World Cup 2023. Many social media users have been posting videos on YouTube sharing different pictures of Rashid Khan waving the Indian flag and claiming that the pictures were taken after the Pakistan vs. Afghanistan match on 23 October 2023. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Pictures of Rashid Khan waving the Indian flag after Afghanistan defeated Pakistan during the ICC World Cup 2023.
Fact: These images of Rashid Khan waving the Indian flag in the cricket stadium are morphed. Rashid Khan did not wave the Indian flag after Afghanistan defeated Pakistan during the ICC World Cup 2023. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Image 1:
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, a similar photo was found published on the ‘ESPN Cricinfo’ website, with the description, “Afghanistan’s win over Pakistan has Rashid Khan ecstatic. Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Men’s World Cup 2023, Chennai. October 23, 2023.”
In the original photo, Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan was not seen holding the Indian national flag. The comparison of the original and the edited image shared in the post can be seen below.
Image 2:
A YouTube user shared a video saying that Rashid Khan had made a heart-winning gesture with the Indian flag after Afghanistan defeated Pakistan during the ICC World Cup 2023. The screengrab of the viral video shows Rashid Khan waving the Indian flag with both hands while thanking the audience on the ground. On reverse image search, we could not find credible sources of the image. When we searched for further details, we found similar visuals in Pakistan vs Afghanistan full-match replay video published on Disney Hotstar. The original visuals show Rashid Khan waving two hands to the audience. The original visuals do not show Rashid Khan waving the Indian flag.
Earlier, when similar false claims were made on social media that Ratan Tata had announced a reward of Rs. 10 crores to Rashid Khan for waving the Indian flag, Factly published a fact-check article debunking that claim.
To sum it up, morphed pictures are shared alleging that Rashid Khan had waved the Indian flag after Afghanistan’s victory against Pakistan during the ICC World Cup 2023.
