Amidst the ongoing T-20 Cricket World Cup, a video of Afghan cricketers chanting ‘Vande Mataram’ is circulating on social media with hashtags like ‘#INDvAUS’, ‘#WC2024’, and ‘#AFGvBAN’, suggesting that it is a recent video (here). In this article, we fact-check the authenticity of the video shared in the post.
Claim: A video showing Afghan cricketers chanting ‘Vande Mataram’ after their entry into the semifinals of the ongoing T-20 World Cup.
Fact: This video is from the 2023 ICC World Cup and shows Afghan players celebrating their victory over Pakistan. In the original video, they can be heard chanting Islamic slogans. The video has been digitally edited to add ‘Vande Mataram’ slogans. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
In the ongoing T-20 World Cup, Afghanistan reached the semifinals by defeating Australia and Bangladesh in the group stage. India’s victory over Australia also contributed to Afghanistan’s advancement, as their win against Bangladesh secured their semifinal spot. In this context, a viral video is being shared showing Afghan players chanting ‘Vande Mataram’ in gratitude to India.
Contrary to the viral claim, Afghan players did not chant ‘Vande Mataram’. Moreover, the video is not recent and is unrelated to the ongoing T20 World Cup of 2024 but from the 2023 ODI World Cup. An internet search with relevant keywords led us to the same video, shared by a journalist in October 2023, after Afghanistan defeated Pakistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
However, in the video shared by a journalist, the Afghan players are heard chanting Islamic slogans rather than ‘Vande Mataram’. Afghan player Mohammed Nabi posted the same video on his Instagram in October 2023, clearly showing the players chanting Islamic slogans. This establishes that this video is digitally edited to add ‘Vande Mataram’ slogans.
To sum up, an old video of Afghan players celebrating their victory over Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup is being falsely shared as them chanting ‘Vande Mataram’.
