Asia Cup: Old Photo Falsely Shared As BJP Flag Spotted During India Vs Pak Match

An old photo showing spectators holding a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flag at The Oval cricket ground in London during the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final between India and Australia is being shared with the false claim that it is from the recent India vs Pakistan Asia Cup ODI match.

The Indian cricket team faced Pakistan in their opening Asia Cup 2023 ODI match on September 2, 2023, at the Pallekele International Stadium in Sri Lanka.

The viral photo is being shared with the caption "It was IndiaVsPAk, But BJP supporter went with BJP flag. We stand with INDIA"

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The same photo is also circulating on Facebook with the misleading claim.

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FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the viral photo is from June, 2023 and was taken during the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final between India and Australia at The Oval cricket ground in London, United Kingdom.

Taking a hint from the viral photo, we ran a keyword search with "bjp flag cricket match", and found several news reports from June 2023. According to the reports, a photo of a cricket fan holding a BJP flag was spotted inside the stadium during the first day of the test match between India and Australia.

The final of the ICC World Test Championship was played between India and Australia from June 7 to June 11, 2023, at The Oval, London, which Australia won by 209 runs.

India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted the viral photo on June 7, 2023, with the caption, "Spotted at the Oval: just a reminder, this is India Vs Australia folks! #WTC2023"

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Comparison

Below is a comparison of both the images.