A video purportedly showing Congress leader Shashi Tharoor praising Pakistan’s diplomatic negotiations to play the February 15, 2026, match against India and criticising the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as being outmaneuvered, is digitally altered.
BOOM found that the viral video has been doctored with an AI-generated voice-over. In the original press interaction, Tharoor speaks about keeping politics separate from sports and expresses happiness that the India–Pakistan T20 World Cup match will go ahead, without praising Pakistan or criticising the BCCI.
The Pakistan government had initially announced it would boycott its Group A match against India, even as it allowed the team to travel to Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup. In a February 1 statement, it said the team would not take the field against India on February 15. However, following ICC-facilitated talks involving officials from the Pakistan and Bangladesh cricket boards, Pakistan later withdrew its boycott decision.
The Claim: Video shows Tharoor prasing Pakistan's diplomatic negotiations for the India-Pak match
The video was posted on X by Zahid Gishkori (@ZahidGishkor) with the caption, "Pakistan nailed India, says @ShashiTharoor adding, "Pakistan deserves to be appreciated to for taking a bold stand" in #icct20worldcup2026."
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What We Found:
1) AI Deepfake voice detection tool results
We analysed the viral video using the Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector and DeepFake-O-Meter by UB Media Forensics Lab. The results confirmed the video is an AI-generated deepfake.
Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector gave the voice an authenticity score of 2/100, flagging it as highly likely to be a deepfake.
2) Original Shashi Tharoor clip
BOOM found that the original video byte given to ANI by Tharoor on February 10, 2026.
In the video, Tharoor is heard saying, “I am a politician, but I don’t like politics in cricket and sports. I think sports are a different field, a different game. Let politicians do their politics somewhere else, diplomats do their work in diplomacy, and cricket players play their game. I’m happy that at least cricket will move with this match. Who will win, and who will lose, that’s another thing…”
In his original remarks, Tharoor does not praise Pakistan’s diplomatic strategy or criticise the BCCI. He spoke about keeping politics separate from sports and welcomed that India-Pak match would be played.
3) Tharoor dismisses Deepfake
Tharoor also dismissed the viral video in an X post on February 12, stating it is, "Ai-generated “fake news”.
