India and Pakistan faced each other on the cricket field for the first time since Operation Sindoor during the Asia Cup on 14 September 2025, in Dubai. Despite widespread calls to boycott the clash following the Pahalgam terror attack, the match went ahead as scheduled, with India registering a convincing seven-wicket victory.
In this context, a video is being widely circulated on social media (here, here, and here) with the claims that it shows ICC chairman Jay Shah and BJP MP Anurag Thakur in conversation with former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi during the India–Pakistan 2025 Asia Cup match. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows Jay Shah and Anurag Thakur chatting with Shahid Afridi while watching the Asia Cup 2025 India vs Pakistan match.
Fact: The video does not show Jay Shah and Anurag Thakur with Shahid Afridi during the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan on 14 September 2025 in Dubai. It is actually from the India–Pakistan match of the ICC Champions Trophy held in Dubai on 23 February 2025, where the three were seen together. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
On closely reviewing the viral video, we found “Champions Trophy 2025” banners in the background, indicating it is from the India–Pakistan match held on 23 February 2025 in Dubai during the ICC Champions Trophy, not the Asia Cup clash on 14 September 2025.
We then conducted a reverse image search of key frames from the viral video, which led us to several social media posts from February 2025 (here, here, and here) carrying the same visuals and claiming they were from the India–Pakistan match during the Champions Trophy on 23 February 2025. This confirms that the video predates the Asia Cup clash on 14 September 2025 and is not from that game.
We also found multiple media reports (here, here, and here) confirming that Jay Shah and Anurag Thakur were seen with Shahid Afridi during the India–Pakistan Champions Trophy on 23 February 2025.
We found no credible media reports confirming that Jay Shah and Anurag Thakur attended the India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match in Dubai on 14 September 2025.
To sum up, the video of Jay Shah, Anurag Thakur, with Shahid Afridi is from the Ind–Pak Champions Trophy 2025 match, not the Asia Cup.
