By Srijit Das
A viral message falsely claiming that industrialist Ratan Tata has declared a reward of Rs 10 crore for Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan is circulating on social media platforms.
The message further states that the ex-chairman of the Tata Group reached this decision following reports that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had purportedly fined the Afghan bowler Rs 55 lakh for celebrating his team's victory with the Indian flag during the ongoing Cricket World Cup match against Pakistan.
BOOM found no credible news reports corroborating the same information. Additionally, we also found that Ratan Tata refuted the viral message from his official social media accounts.
Afghanistan's spinner, Rashid Khan, has recently garnered attention for his celebratory dance with former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan following their team's comfortable victory against Pakistan in the ongoing Official ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India. Pathan later clarified about the dance and stated that he danced as Rashid Khan was able to fulfil his promise. However, the video of the duo's dance went viral on social media and gathered mixed reactions on the internet.
The viral message reads, "Ratan Tata has once again shown his greatness. Rashid Khan, Afghanistan spinner, after defeating NaPak, took the Indian flag and ran around the ground on victory lap and shouted Bharat Mata ki Jai. NaPak complained to ICC about his action. ICC and all other world sports bodies, as always, show staunch opposition any* *'Bharatiya' eulogization. ICC imposed a fine of Rs 55 lakhs on Rashid Khan. Ratan Tata, by saying that the person who showed respect to our National Flag should be lauded. Tata announced that he would not only pay the fine amount of Rs 55 lakhs but also reward Rashid Khan with a whopping amount of Rs 10 crore. Hail Ratan Tata Sir".
Several internet users shared the message on WhatsApp and posted it on Facebook believing it to be true.
One such Facebook post can be seen below.
Click here to view the post.
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'I have made no suggestions on fine or reward to any player'
BOOM first performed a related keyword search to find news reports that corroborated the viral claim but found none from any credible outlet.
We then looked into the official social media handles of Ratan Tata and found that he refuted the claim urging not to believe any such message without cross-checking it with his official platforms.
Ratan Tata on his verified X (formerly Twitter handle) handle wrote on October 30, 2023, "I have made no suggestions to the ICC or any cricket faculty about any cricket member regarding a fine or reward to any players. I have no connection to cricket whatsoever. Please do not believe WhatsApp forwards and videos of such nature unless they come from my official platforms."
Click here to view the post.
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