Fake Statements Attributed to Wasim Akram Related to Sri Lanka’s Dismal Performance in the Asia Cup Finals!

Sri Lanka suffered a humiliating loss to India in the 2023 Asia Cup finals, in the process creating several infamous records. Incidentally, the much-hyped finals lasted only 129 balls, the third shortest game in ODI history in terms of the number of balls bowled. 

After this heavy loss, there have been many conspiracy theories about the defeat, including match-fixing allegations. One such statement was attributed to the famous former all-rounder Wasim Akram. Let’s look at the claim in detail.

Social Media Posts 

Viral social media posts claimed that the former Pakistani cricketer and current cricket commentator Wasim Akram alleged that the performance of the Sri Lanka cricket team in the Asia Cup final match was suspicious, implying that a match-fixing arrangement could have happened.

Facebook| Archived

Users commented on those posts like below.

The same content was shared among Sinhala users as well.

Facebook | Archived

This news was published on some sports websites in Sri Lanka. Archived

Fact Check

There is no record of Wasim Akram making any such statements on Star Sports or in any other public forum. No mainstream media outlet has reported any such allegations from Wasim Akram.

Wasim Akram denied making such statements when we asked him about that via a well-known Pakistani sports journalist.

Wasim Akram also stated about this fake news on his official FB account: "People need to stop thinking everything on social media is true. The bad is always easier to believe than the good. Fake news, in our part of the world, ignites unnecessary controversies, sparks hate, and toughens the rift between us, something that both countries do not need any more of. Enough is enough!”

Facebook Archived

Furthermore, Pakistani journalists told us that the person who originally posted the claim on social media has since deleted the post and said that they were joking.

We also noticed that the exact quote has been attributed to some of the Australian cricketers who had already passed away, such as Shane Warne, Andrew Symonds, and even fellow fast bowling partner of Wasim’s, Waqar Younis. However, no news reports support such statements that even Waqar Younis called the finals of the Asia Cup cricket finals was fixed.

A few civil rights organizations filed a complaint at the Police Headquarters in Colombo alleging a serious suspicion over match-fixing and Sri Lankan cricketers’ performance, as seen here.

However, many cricket commentators had pointed out that while it was a dismal performance by a Sri Lankan team who had strung together a series of record wins in the recent past, the underperformance of Sri Lanka batters against the swinging ball is quite evident, highlighting that this Asia Cup finals batting collapse was the third time that the Sri Lankan team had been rolled over for a score less than 100 in the current year 2023 itself.

Earlier, another former Pakistan speedster, Shoaib Akhtar, slammed the fans who made accusations that India was trying to deliberately lose to Sri Lanka during their Super 4 match in the same Asia Cup competition.

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Conclusion

There is no evidence to support the claim that Wasim Akram made any statement on Start Sports or any other public forum regarding match-fixing in the Asia Cup 2023 final. The claim appears to have originated on social media and spread without any basis in fact.

Being critical of the information you see on social media is essential, especially if it makes sensational claims. It is always a good idea to check with multiple sources before believing something that you see online.

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