Footage of fight between India, Pakistan cricket teams is AI-generated
- Published on June 18, 2026 at 08:30
- Updated on June 18, 2026 at 09:56
- 3 min read
- By Devesh MISHRA, AFP India
Political tension has overshadowed matches between arch-rivals India and Pakistan since last year's deadly cross-border clashes, but a video shared across multiple platforms purporting to show a scuffle on the field between the women's teams is a fabrication. An AFP reporter covering the women's T20 matches said the footage was "completely false", while the clip contained visual errors indicative of AI-generated content.
"Things are heating up in IND vs PAK! Heated words erupted between Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana Sheikh right in the middle of the match," read parts of a Hindi X post published on June 14, 2026.
"The tension between the two players was clearly visible. The match atmosphere was already charged, and now it's flared up even more!"
The 10‑second video shows a confrontation between two players in green and blue jerseys on a field, as teammates and officials rushed towards them.
The video circulated online alongside similar claims on Facebook, X, and Instagram, as India dominated in their women's T20 World Cup campaign with a 64-run win against arch-rival Pakistan on June 14 (archived link).
Tensions have remained high between the two neighbours in the wake of military clashes in May 2025, when a four-day exchange of artillery, drones, and missiles killed more than 70 people (archived link).
Since then, a no-handshake policy has remained in place in matches between the two nuclear-armed cricket-crazed rivals (archived link).
User comments indicated they believed the footage of the fight was genuine.
One user said: "The way the Indian lionesses thrashed these Pakistanis not only with words but also with bat and ball will be forever recorded in history."
But a close inspection of the clip found it was created using AI tools.
Additionally, an AFP reporter, Faisal Kamal, covering the match between India and Pakistan said the video was "fake".
Kamal, who was reporting on the India-Pakistan Women's T20 Cricket World Cup match in London on June 14, said "no such incident happened".
"I watched the entire game from start to finish and I can say with confidence that claims of a fight are completely false," he said on June 15.
Several visual errors can be seen throughout the clip, such as a Pakistani jersey where the head, torso and feet appear on opposite sides, while the jersey misspells the country's name.
Deepti Sharma, who wears the number six jersey, is shown wearing both number 42 and number seven in the clip (archived link).
According to India's cricket governing body, no player in the women's national team wears the number 42, while team captain Harmanpreet Kaur wears number seven.
The Indian team's jersey in the AI-generated video does not match the authentic jerseys -- with long sleeves -- as seen in this AFP photo.
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation stemming from India and Pakistan's cricketing rivalry and AIGC misinformation.
June 18, 2026 UPDATES to tweak grammar in headline
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