No, This Photographer Did Not Cry After Dhoni Lost His Wicket

A set of images of an Iraqi photo journalist in tears after his football team's exit at the hands of Qatar at the AFC Asian Cup in January are being falsely linked to Mahendra Singh Dhoni losing his wicket in India's ill fated semi-final match against New Zealand in the Word Cup.

Three close-up images of the photographer weeping as he looks through his camera's viewfinder have been shared along with an image of Dhoni leaving the field after getting run-out in Wednesday's match.

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Dhoni's exit sealed the Indian team's fate in its doomed run chase against New Zealand as its hopes of lifting the World Cup for a third time, were dashed.

FACT-CHECK

A reverse image search showed the image is that of an Iraqi photographer who cried after his national side lost a football match against Qatar. Qatar beat Iraq 1-0 in the quarterfinals of 2019 AFC Asian Cup in January 2019.

We also found an article by Fox Sports Asia that identified the photographer as Mohammed Al Assasawi.

We compared photos of Al-Assawi with the viral photo and found that both matched.

Comparison

We also found an interview which Al-Assawi gave to RT Arabic on his photo going viral. (At 0.37 timestamp)