Edited Photo Viral Claiming Afghanistan Cricketer Celebrated With Indian Flag
CLAIM: Photo shows Afghanistan cricketer celebrating with the Indian national flag after the team's win against England at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
FACT CHECK : BOOM reviewed the exact moment seen in the photo with the original replay of the match and found that there is no Indian flag in the hands of any Aghanistani team member. We also identified the person in the photo as Nasir Khan, part of the Afghanistan cricket team's media team, who confirmed to us that the photo is edited and fake.
A viral photo claiming an Afghanistan cricketer celebrated with the Indian national flag after the team's win against England at the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy is edited and fake.
BOOM found that in the original footage from the match, the individual seen in the viral photo is empty handed and not holding the Indian tricolour. We further identified him as Nasir Khan, part of the Afghanistan cricket team's media management team, who confirmed to BOOM that he was not carrying anything in his hands and the photo is edited to show him holding the Indian flag.
Afghanistan knocked England out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on February 26 with a thrilling eight-run victory at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. Batting first, they posted their highest-ever total in an ICC Men's ODI tournament, setting a challenging target of 326, with Ibrahim Zadran scoring a remarkable 177 off 146 balls. In a must-win Group B clash, Joe Root fought back with a sublime 120, but England fell short, ending their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
The photo which shows a member of the Afghanistan team's support staff greeting the team member Rashid Khan with an Indian flag. The image is being shared with a Hindi text that translates to, "After winning against England, Afghanistan team raised the Indian flag on Pakistani ground which made the people of entire Pakistan furious."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
The same photo was used in a report by a YouTube channel named First Cricket with the same false claim.
Click here to view the report and here for an archive.
Fact Check
BOOM identified the support staff member who confirmed that he was not holding any flag in his hand and further able to confirm that the flag is edited into the photo to make the viral claim.
We first noticed that the flag is suspended mid-air, with nobody grasping the flag. We have highlighted the same in a close up picture below :
We then reviewed the full replay of the group stage match between England and Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy on February 26, 2025, on JioHotstar to verify the viral visual.
The exact visual was found in the replay, with the Afghanistan cricket team support staff member not holding anything in his hands.
The original visual of the incident can be seen at the counter 9:09:21 time mark in the replay of the game, when Afghanistan team member Rashid Khan was joined by others including support staff to celebrate following their victory over England.
The original interaction as visible in the match replay can be seen below:
We also compared the original visual with the viral photo. The comparison shows that the Indian flag was digitally added to make the false claim.
Further, we identified the team member seen in the photo as Nasir Khan, who is part of Afghanistan cricket team's media management team.
Speaking to BOOM, Khan rubbished the viral claim and confirmed that the photo is edited, "I was then going to hug Rashid. I was not carrying any flag at that moment," he said.
BOOM also tested the photo using the AI detector tool Hive Moderation, which concluded that the image is unlikely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content.
This confirmed that the flag has been added using editing tools and is not AI generated.
(This story was originally published by boomlive.in, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Will give suitable answer on L&O situation in Karnataka during winter session: Minister Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said that he will give a suitable response in the state legislature about the law and order situation in Karnataka, if the opposition raises the matter to target the government.
Opposition BJP has made it clear that the law and order situation will be among the main issues that it will raise during the winter session.
The winter session of the Karnataka legislature will begin in Belagavi on December 8 and will go on till 19th of this month.
"I will give a suitable answer (in the Assembly), if they (opposition raise), as to how the law and order situation is in Karnataka and in BJP-ruled states. Also, how law and order was there when the BJP was in power in the state, and how it is now with figures," Parameshwara said in response to a question.
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Speaking to reporters here, he said he is not saying that there have been no incidents in the state, but it has to be told as to how the situation was there during the BJP's rule and how it is now.
Asked about how the government will defend notorious criminals and a terror suspect allegedly enjoying preferential treatment inside the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail, the home minister said, "When the majority of the incidents took place, which government was there? All this will be informed in the Assembly when the issue is raised."
Admitting that such incidents have occurred under the current government's tenure too, he said, appropriate action has also been taken against those involved and the officials responsible. "But, old videos were circulated and it was projected as it took place now. I will explain each incident," he added.
To a question on Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into allegations of "multiple murders, rapes and burials" in the temple town of Dharmasthala, Parameshwara said, he would inform the factual position to the legislature, if raised in the House.
"SIT has submitted the report to the court. They have also submitted it to the government. If the issue is raised, we will inform the house. Factual position has to be told. What is there to hide?"
Asked about his meeting with senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi, amid leadership speculation in the state, Parameshwara said, some time the meeting with Jarkiholi might be on work-related matters as he holds a major PWD portfolio, while sometime it will be for casual political discussions.
"What is there to hide in it? We have met in the past too," he added.
