| schema:text
| - Fact Check: Gavaskar didn't criticise World Cup's management, viral quote false
After investigation, India Today's Fact Check found the narrative baseless. Upon reaching out to Gavaskar, he emphatically denied the allegations.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
The viral tweet falsely attributes the viral remarks to Gavaskar. He was not part of the commentary team for that game.
The Cricket World Cup 2023 has ignited passion across India. However, the enthusiasm noticeably waned during the opening matches, especially the clash between England and New Zealand in Hyderabad. In response, organisers resorted to an immediate solution: selling tickets at the stadium gates.
Against this backdrop, a fabricated quote attributed to Sunil Gavaskar emerged on social media. Alongside Gavaskar's photo, the claim suggests he's deeply upset with BCCI's handling of the World Cup, implying he's ashamed of his Indian identity.
After investigation, India Today's Fact Check found the narrative baseless. Upon reaching out to Gavaskar, he emphatically denied the allegations, asserting, "Those who know me understand that I would never be ashamed to be an Indian. I am and will always remain a proud Indian."
Among the first X users to spin this false narrative was a X user named "ASG." ASG's tweet, widely circulated with over 1500 shares at the time of filing this report, states, "Sunil Gavaskar on Star Sports: 'I am ashamed to call myself Indian. This is the worst Cricket World Cup. Empty stadiums, no scoreboard, pathetic management from BCCI. Gavaskar didn't hold back.” The false narrative was then propagated by other users.
On investigation, India Today uncovered significant inconsistencies. Primarily, Gavaskar was not part of the commentary team for that match. Moreover, a thorough search of the mainstream media revealed no coverage of any such remarks by him.
Additionally, the user “ASG” has previously spread misleading information. In 2022, ASG wrongly attributed a fabricated statement to English cricketer Nasser Hussain. Hussain promptly debunked this, labelling it false and urging its removal.
Further scrutiny indicated the misinformation wasn't merely a mistake. When another user pointed out Gavaskar wasn't commenting during that match, ASG defended the false claim, suggesting Gavaskar made a brief appearance to express his displeasure and then departed. Some other users amplified the false claim asserting they had also heard Gavaskar's supposed comments.
Interestingly, many of these accounts seem to originate from Pakistan and Dubai.
India Today has previously unearthed sophisticated misinformation campaigns emanating from Pakistan. For instance, we debunked an incorrect statement assigned to Pakistani cricketers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Disturbingly, these misinformation campaigns display similar patterns in their dissemination.
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)