Photo Of Danish Kaneria, Mohammed Yousuf Offering Namaz? Not Quite

BJP Mahila Morcha member Priti Gandhi, shared a 13-year old photo of the Pakistani cricket team offering prayers, while misleadingly claiming that it shows Danish Kaneria – a Hindu, and Yousuf Youhana (now known as Mohammed Yousuf) – a former Christian, "being asked" to offer namaz.

BOOM found that the photo does not contain Kaneria at all, and shows Yousuf after his conversion to Islam.

Gandhi tweeted the photo with a caption that reads: "Picture of Pakistan cricket team during Inzamam-ul-Haq's captaincy. Hindu Danish Kaneria & Christian Yousuf Youhana were asked to offer Namaz. #IndiaSupportsCAA"

This tweet is shared in the backdrop of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which has triggered widespread protests in the country. Gandhi's tweet attempts to demonstrate how minority communities in Pakistan, like Hindus and Christians, face persecution and discrimination.

Also Reads Citizenship Amendment Act Protests: Muslim Disguised As A Sikh? A FactCheck

Furthermore, former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and Kaneria himself recently stated that the latter was discriminated against on the grounds of his religion.

"Shoaib has been a legend of the game. His words are also as blunt as his bowling. When I was playing I did not have the courage to speak on these matters but after Shoaib bhai's comments, I do," Kaneria told PTI over the phone.

So, does the image shared by Gandhi show the same?

Fact Check

BOOM ran the image by Pakistani sports journalist and ESPN-Cricinfo correspondent Umar Farooq Kalson, who confirmed to us that while Danish Kaneria is not in the photo at all, Mohammed Yousuf (formerly Yousuf Youhana) can indeed be seen offering prayers.

According to Kalson, the people in the photo are Abdul Rauf (team masseur), Inzamam ul-Haq, Mohammed Yousuf, Kamran Akmal and Umar Gul (from left, in the front row), while Rana Naved-ul-Hasan can be seen in the second row behind Rauf.

BOOM did a reverse image search with the photo, and traced it back to a GettyImage photo from August 27, 2006. The caption of the photo states: "Inzamam ul-Haq (2ndL) prays with his team mates before net practice before the Natwest International Twenty20 match at The County Ground, Bristol on August 27, 2006 in Bristol, England."

BOOM found ESPN-Cricinfo's coverage of the match and found that Kaneria was not a part of the line-up at all. This may suggest Kaneria's absence at the photo session before the match.

While, Mohammed Yousuf - who Gandhi refers to by his former name Yousuf Youhana - is in the photo, the photo is taken a year after Yousuf publicly announced his conversion to Islam from Christianity. Therefore the photo does not show him as a Christian "being asked" to offer namaz.