Fake ICC ‘media release’ announcing ban on Pakistan viral across social media platforms

Amid the controversy over Bangladesh pulling out of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup and Pakistan refusing to play against India, a supposed media release by the International Cricket Council (ICC) has gone viral on social media. It states that ICC has banned Pakistan cricket for a year.

The document states that it was decided through a vote that Pakistan cricket be banned, and other penalties like a reduction of annual revenue share be imposed on them. Besides, Pakistan will also not be allowed to host any ICC tournaments till 2040.

An X user named Bemba Tavuma (@gaandfaadtits) shared the purported media release. He subsequently deleted it, but not before it garnered close to 1 million views. (Archive)

The same image was posted on Facebook by an account named Inspired Analyst. It has had over 10,000 likes and 270 shares. (Archive)

The ‘ICC media release’ is viral on Instagram as well. It was posted on Instagram by a user named ‘worldinlast24hr’ (wordinlast24hrTM), who has over 18,200 followers.  The post has had over 7,9000 likes. (Archive)

 

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Fact Check

To begin with, we looked for media reports on the action taken by the cricketing body against Pakistan, but could not find a single report by any reputable media outlet that said that the country had been banned.  

We also combed through ICC’s official website and social media handles. No such announcement was shared there either.

We did, however, find a press release on the ICC website dated February 1, 2026, regarding Pakistan’s participation in the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup. In the said statement, ICC raised concerns about the Pakistan government’s suggestion that the team might not fully participate in the T20 World Cup 2026, and asserted that selective participation went against the spirit of competition and could damage the credibility of the tournament. While ICC acknowledged the government’s roles and decisions on national policy, it also said that such decisions might not be a good move for international cricket, fans around the world and in Pakistan. 

ICC also mentioned that they were awaiting an official confirmation from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and urged the PCB to find a mutually acceptable resolution that protected the interests of all stakeholders.

There is nothing in the media release on a ban or revenue cut or Pakistan being disbarred from hosting tournaments.

We noticed that the viral image, or the supposed media release had a logo on the top right corner which was partially cut. When we examined it carefully, we noticed that it had Doordarshan’s symbol.

We then went through social media handles of DD Sports and found a post on its Facebook page, which appeared to have been edited to create the fake media release. (Archive)

To sum up, the viral ICC ‘media release’ announcing punitive measures against Pakistan cricket board, including a one-year ban, is fake.