“The World Cup Trophy would be retrieved from the Australian side as ICC officials have announced that the decider for the quadrennial tournament will be played in best of a three-match format. Additionally, the 19th November upset for the host side makes the scoreline 1-0 in favour of Australia. As the ICC ruling states in the condition of the host side losing the Final knockout game the format of the tournament will undergo changes. This will be done to ensure that the side defeating the host team is truly worthy of the prize.” Apparently, these are the claims being made in messages doing the rounds on WhatsApp.
However, a simple reading of these claims reveals that their origin lies in a satirical article that is also being circulated on social media platforms. Here is an example of WhatsApp forwards with the same claims doing rounds.
The link to the article attached with some of these WhatsApp forwards is that of a satirical article titled “ICC announces World Cup final to be ‘best of three’ following India’s loss, BCCI complaint”. However, the article itself explicitly mentions that it is just a ‘Satire’ right above the article headline.
The satirical article states, “Under the rules, a tournament host losing the final – in this case, India – would have the right to try again in two further follow-up finals, with the trophy to be awarded to the victors of the best-of-three series.”
The article further notes how India would still enjoy this advantage in the next World Cup being hosted in three Cricketing nations. It claims, “This rule will remain in place for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia; however, due to there being three teams sharing hosting rights all with a chance of participating in the tournament, the laws state the right of a three-match finals series will be awarded to the host of the previous World Cup, which in this case would be India as well.”
Again, it’s crucial to note that these assertions are rooted in satire, aiming to provide comic relief rather than factual accuracy. However, it has to be elucidated before insane accusations start hurling from across the border, keeping in mind the recent history.
Interestingly, in the wake of India’s remarkable performance in the recent World Cup, the Pakistani cricketing community and the English media showcased a rather infamous penchant for embracing conspiracy theories, even treating WhatsApp forwards as credible evidence. According to their narrative, these so-called “evidence” unveils a covert collusion between the ICC and BCCI.
Evidently, the English media outlet ‘The Daily Mail’ on 14th November published an EXCLUSIVE report which was based on a ‘WhatsApp forward’. Based on some Whatsapp Forward, the English media accused BCCI of changing the pitch for the semifinal without the permission of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and individuals like senior ‘journalist’ Sagarika Ghose and the Pakistani cricketing fraternity went on to amplify the rumour by sharing the unsubstantiated claim without bothering to verify it.
Strikingly, the satirical article seems to be an inherent attempt to take a dig at these Pakistani and English Cricketing analysts who manifest the English adage ‘A bad workman blames his tools’.