A quote, attributed to former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, is going viral on the internet, with users falsely claiming that Gavaskar recently criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The claim: An X (formerly Twitter) user named 'Hassan' shared the claim stating that Gavaskar spoke to NDTV and said, "It should be a matter of utter shame for us as Indians for politicising, ruining and basically hijacking this beautiful game of cricket. BCCI has let India down and tonight’s results are a testimony of it.(sic)"
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
The post had recorded around 1.4 million views on the platform at the time of writing this report.
(You can view similar archives of such posts here, here, here, and here.)
Context behind the claims: These claims come after the match between India and Pakistan during the 2023 Asia Cup was washed out following the first innings. The match was being held in Sri Lanka.
What is the truth?: The statement is being falsely attributed to Gavaskar. His son and former cricketer, Rohan Gavaskar, took to his X account to refute the viral claims.
How did we find out?: A keyword search led us to Rohan Gavaskar's X account, where he quote-reposted the viral tweet and said that the statement was fabricated.
He said, "This is a completely fabricated statement attributed to my father. He hasn’t made this statement and someone is just trying to create mischief. It’s absolutely ridiculous that people would use his name to get more engagement. Please retweet so that the truth prevails."
Rohan also pointed out that his father is under contract with India Today, so he would not speak to NDTV.
No information available in public domain: The Quint did not come across any news reports or information about Sunil Gavaskar making such a statement. It should be noted that if such a statement was, in fact made, there would been several reports indicating the same.
We further checked two recent videos uploaded on India Today, where Gavaskar could be seen talking about the match.
However, we did not come across any information which could support the viral claim.
Conclusion: The quote being attributed to former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is fabricated.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)