Fact Check: Did Akshay Kumar, Jay Shah celebrate India's defeat in T20 World Cup?

Hyderabad: After Pakistan defeated India in the T20 World Cup on 24 October, many videos and posts are being widely shared on social media with various claims. Now, a photo of actor Akshay Kumar and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah is going viral with the claim that they were celebrating Pakistan's victory.

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Fact Check

The claim is misleading.

NewsMeter performed a Google reverse image search which led us to a report by India.com published on 24 October titled "BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and Akshay Kumar Celebrates After Over-Throw From Shaheen Afridi in India vs Pakistan Match". It had published the viral image.

The report read, "During the 19th over, Shaheen Afridi's overthrow which cost Pakistan 4 runs, made the entire Indian fans leap from their seats and one such fan was superstar, Akshay Kumar who was seen celebrating with BCCI secretary Jay Shah."

Videos of Akshay Kumar and Jay Shah celebrating Shaheen Afridi's overthrow were also uploaded on various YouTube channels, including Cricket Videos, CricketSpyOfficial, SJ Amazing and Cricket Lovers.

A Twitter user had also shared the video and tweeted, "This match is such an emotion for everyone....#AkshayKumar cheers for team team india on overthrow 18.5 overs."

It is evident that the claim made through the viral post is misleading. The image shows Akshay Kumar and Jay Shah celebrating the overthrow by Shaheen Afridi. They were not celebrating Pakistan's victory against India.