Claim: Geo News reported that New Zealand cricketer Siimon Doull sayd he was living in Pakistan like a prisoner; he was not allowed to go out and was not given any food for many days. The cricketer said he has suffered mental torture and is glad he has now escaped Pakistan.
Fact: The claim originates from a doctored screenshot of a Geo News bulletin which attributes a fabricated statement toNew Zealand cricketer Simon Doull.
On 12 April 2023, a screenshot of a Geo News bulletin went viral on Twitter. It claimed that New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull had given a statement to the media saying that when he was in Pakistan, he felt as if he was living in prison. He added that he was not allowed to go outside since Babar Azam’s fans were waiting for him and that he was not given any food and also felt mentally tortured in Pakistan. According to this screenshot, Doull said that he was glad to have escaped the country.
The New Zealand cricketer came to Pakistan earlier this year to join his team Peshawar Zalmi for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which was scheduled between 13 February 2023 to 18 March 2023.
Fact or Fiction?
We searched various keywords from Simon Doull’s alleged statement in Urdu from 13 February 2023 to 14 April 2023, on the Geo News website and found that they had not reported this statement.
Additionally, UK-based editor of Pak Passion, Saj Sadiq tweeted a clarification on the issue of Simon Doull’s statement: “Just spoke with Simon Doull. He denies reports quoting him as saying he was not allowed to go out in Pakistan as Babar Azam fans were waiting for him and that he stayed in Pakistan without food for many days. He says that he absolutely loved his time in Pakistan.”
Geo News also published an article on 13 April 2023, confirming that they had not published any statement by Simon Doull saying that he felt he was living in prison in Pakistan
Virality
The doctored screenshot was shared on Facebook here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Simon Doull did not say his time in Pakistan was hell.