A post by a parody handle, impersonating Indian cricketer Mohammed Siraj on X (formerly Twitter), is circulating with false claims that the cricketer dedicated India's victory over Pakistan in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 to Israel.
On October 14, 2023, India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match which was played in Ahmedabad. During the first innings Siraj had taken two crucial wickets including Pakistani captain Babar Azam.
In the X post, the parody handle takes a sarcastic jibe at Pakistani batsman Muhammad Rizwan who had dedicated his century against Sri Lanka on October 11, 2023, to the people of Gaza. After the recent attack by the Islamic militant group Hamas on Israeli forces on October 7, 2023, Gaza has been reeling with retaliatory airstrikes by Israel with the death toll reaching more than 2,200 which includes 724 children and 458 women according to the Gaza health ministry.
The X handle named 'Mohammad Siraj' (@iamMohdSiiraj) impersonating Mohammed Siraj posted with the caption, "This was for our brothers and sisters in Israel"
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We found several replies and X handles falling for this account assuming that it is the official account of Siraj.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that Mohammed Siraj had not posted any such post dedicating India's victory over Pakistan to the people of Israel. The post that has gone viral was put out by a parody X handle impersonating Siraj.
Checking the profile bio of the X handle, it clearly states that it is a parody account. Additionally, the handle misspells Siraj's first name as 'Mohammad' and not 'Mohammed'.
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After India's victory over Pakistan on October 14, 2023, Siraj had posted on his official X account '@mdsirajofficial' with the caption, "3 W We continue the work". This is a reference to India winning their first three matches in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, against Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Neither did Siraj post anything related to the recent Israel - Hamas conflict nor did he dedicate the match to the "people of Israel" as being claimed on social media.
