No, Shashi Tharoor isn’t with wives of Pak cricketers in this photograph

A photograph of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor with a group of women is being shared on social media as the Kerala MP in the company of “Pakistani cricketers’ wives.” A Facebook user Rajiv Tyagi was among those who circulated the image. “There’s more to winning a cricket match, than just players hitting a ball…Here’s a convincing reason why we won the match – Shashi Tharoor with Pakistan’s cricket wives,” he wrote.

Several people who believed the claim to be true have made distasteful comments on Tyagi’s post.

The photograph has been shared with the same claim on Twitter as well.

Several people have also circulated the image along with a Hindi caption. Not all of them have claimed that Tharoor posed with wives of Pakistani cricket players but most of the posts are marred with sexist overtones – “he has formed his own team 11” and “he is on a world cup of his own.”

Old image, false claim

The image was posted by Tharoor himself on February 19, 2018. He isn’t in the company of Pakistani cricketers’ wives but the women of Indore’s Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, per his tweet.

With the women of Indore’s Entrepreneurs’ Organisation after a three-hour interaction tonight. (But the men asked most of the questions.) pic.twitter.com/4cJB5QoOtl

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 18, 2018

The Congress MP has often found himself in the crosshairs of misinformation on social media. His photographs have been mispresented and statements placed out of context.