False Claim Viral That Snake Spotted At the Afghanistan-England Match in Lahore

This incident took place in August 2023 during a match as a part of the Lanka Premier League in Sri Lanka

A video showing a snake slithering through electric wires during a cricket match is going viral on social media.

The claim: Users claimed that a snake appeared on the ground in Lahore, Pakistan. Posts noted that this happened during a match between Afghanistan and England as a part of the 2025 International Cricket Council (ICC) Mens Champions Trophy at the Gaddafi Stadium.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• This incident is from 2023 during a match as a part of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

What we found: We divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We came across an article by the Free Press Journal from August 2023 which featured an image similar to one of the frames.

• The article noted that a snake was spotted once again during a LPL fixture between Jaffna Kings and B-Love Kandy in Colombo.

• We, then, conducted a relevant keyword search and found a version of the clip on Sri Lanka cricket's official YouTube channel from 12 August 2023.

• The title noted, "Surprise visit! The snake returns to LPL 2023 grounds to assess playoffs qualification" (sic.)

• Similarly, the Times of India covered the incident and mentioned that the reptile was gradually moving forward when Kandy pacer Isuru Udana noticed it and became frightened.

• It was also noted that R Premadasa Stadium (the venue for the match) had seen snakes appear during two games in the LPL in 2023.

• According to the highlights of the ICC Champions Trophy match between Afghanistan and England, in the seventh over of the game, Afghan player Rahmat Shah was at the batting end with Ibrahim Zadran while England’s Mark Wood bowler. The scorecard featured in the viral video has been taken from that over.

• The match took place on 26 February.

Conclusion: An old video of a snake at a cricket ground in 2023 has been shared as one from a recent match between Afghanistan and England in Lahore.

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