Pakistan has reversed its previous stance of boycotting the ongoing T20 World Cup against India, with the government directing Salman Ali Agha’s team to play the match on February 15 as scheduled. Soon after, a video started going viral online claiming that Congress MP and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor was praising the decision. This video is going viral on social media.
What did the video show?
In the video, Tharoor said, “I think Pakistan have played really well. I don’t know what they will do on the field. But what they have done diplomatically is absolutely brilliant. Indian cricket has nailed it completely. This is a lesson that good diplomacy can even make a weak country look like Goliath. Pakistan did it. I want to thank Pakistan. It’s unthinkable.”
The AI-generated video was shared on
“It’s not my language, it’s not my voice.”
Reacting to the fake video, MPs said it was fake and was generated using artificial intelligence. “The ‘fake news’ that the AI generated was not very good. Neither was my language, nor was my voice,” Tharoor said.
The MP instead condemned Islamabad’s decision to boycott the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as “disgraceful”. Tharoor criticized the increasing politicization of cricket and stressed that the sport should act as a bridge rather than a divider. “Frankly, it’s pretty shameful that sports have become so politicized on both sides,” Tharoor said.
Tharoor’s comments came after Pakistan announced that they would miss the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup match against India on February 15. The Pakistan government confirmed the move in a post by X, saying the team would “not participate” in the match against India.
