The India‑Pakistan match at the 2025 World Championship of Legends in Birmingham was cancelled after multiple Indian cricket legends—including Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh and others—opted out, citing the April terror attack in Pahalgam and rising geopolitical tensions. WCL issued an apology.
In the above context, a photo is being widely shared on social media in which Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn is seen meeting Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi.
The photo is shared with a caption suggesting that Ajay Devgn met Shahid Afridi amid the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack.
A social media user shared the image with a caption that reads, “Ajay Devgn was silent during the entire India-Pakistan tension. Now, amid national outrage against Pakistani celebrities, he’s seen casually laughing with Shahid Afridi on ground? When the country expected voices, he chose silence.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is misleading. The image shows their interaction during the 2024 World Championship of Legends in Birmingham.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same images were shared by an X account, Inside Sport, on July 6, 2024.
The images were shared with a caption suggesting that Shahid Afridi met the Bollywood actor at Edgbaston in England.
The Pahalgam terrorist attack happened on April 22, which resulted in tensions between India and Pakistan. The militants had attacked tourists at Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley, killing 26 civilians. India blamed the Pakistan-backed group TRF and suspended key bilateral treaties. The strike intensified India–Pakistan tensions, triggering military retaliation. The attack fuelled fresh India-Pakistan tensions, prompting Indian cricketers to withdraw from a WCL match, leading to its cancellation.
Thus, we know that the viral incident is before the Pahalgam attack.
We further found that a Pakistani Instagram page had also shared the video of Ajay Devgn meeting the Pakistani cricket team. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Ahead of a match between senior Pakistani and Indian cricketers at World Championship of Legends in Birmingham, United Kingdom, cricket fans witnessed something rare but evenly interesting when Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, also co-owner of the tournament, engaged in a brief conversation with former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi.”
We further found that the incident was also reported by The News, a Pakistani media organisation. According to the report, Ajay Devgn met senior Pakistani and Indian cricketers at the World Championship of Legends in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Ajay is the co-owner of the tournament and the match was between senior Pakistani and Indian cricketers.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is misleading.