A video showing a Pakistan cricketer advising a Sri Lankan cricketer to convert to Islam for religious benefits is widely shared on social media, linking to the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
The video is shared on Facebook with a caption: “हम क्रिकेट खेलने के अलावा हर चीज में माहिर हैं #ICCworldCup2022 #PAKTeam” (English translation: We specialise in everything except playing cricket #ICCworldCup2022 #PAKTeam)
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
Extracting keyframes from the viral video and performing a Reverse Image Search with relevant keywords, we found the official YouTube channel of NewX carrying the longer version of the same viral video on September 4, 2014. The video description reads: “Religious comments by Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad to Sri Lanka player Tillakaratne Dilshan after their one-day international last Saturday are being investigated by the Pakistan Cricket Board. While the players were walking back to the dressing room in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, Shehzad was caught on-camera telling Dilshan “if you are a non-Muslim and turn Muslim, no matter whatever you do in your life, straight to heaven.” The same viral video can be seen at the 35-second point of the NewX bulletin, in which Shehzad advises Dilshan to convert to Islam as the two are returning to the changing room following Sri Lanka’s innings.
An NDTV report, dated September 4, 2014, has also reported the same incident. According to the report, “Religious comments by Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad to Sri Lanka player Tillakaratne Dilshan after their one-day international last Saturday are being investigated by the Pakistan Cricket Board.”
Moreover, we checked the team squad for Pakistan and Sri Lanka but could not find the names of Ahmed Shehzad and Tillakaratne Dilshan for the T20 World Cup 2022.
We also did a keyword search but could not find any recent media reports that corroborated the viral claim. Had such an incident happened at the World Cup, mainstream media would have covered it.
Thus, it is clear that the viral claim is misleading.
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