Claim: 28-year-old Pakistani cricketer Usman Khan Shinwari has passed away from a heart attack while playing a cricket match.
Fact: Usman Khan Shinwari did not pass away. His 46-year-old namesake, Usman Shinwari, passed away from a heart attack while playing a Corporate League match in Lahore.
Fact or Fiction?
On 25 September 2022, club cricketer Usman Shinwari passed away from cardiac arrest in Chobli Town Cricket Ground Lahore during a match between Berger Paints and Friesland.
Following reports of his death, social media users confused 46-year-old Shinwari with 28-year-old national cricket played Usman Khan Shinwari.
The latter took to Twitter to refute rumours about his death. He tweeted, “Me belkul thek ho Allah ka shukar hai mery pory family ko log calls kr rahy hai with due respect itni bari News chalany se pehly tasdeeq kar liya kary shukria🙏” [I am completely fine, thanks to Allah. My entire family is getting calls, with due respect, please investigate and verify before running such big news].
Virality
Soch Fact Check conducted a CrowdTangle analysis for the 7-day period since 21 to 28 September using the following search term:
“افسوسناک خبر، کرکٹر عثمان شنواری میچ کے دوران ہارٹ اٹیک سے انتقال کر گئے”
The search turned up 14,378 interactions across 71 posts.
The second search term used was “Usman Shinwari Cricket” for the 3-day period from 25th September to 28th September. The search turned up 20,465 interactions across 187 posts. However, the latter search result also showed posts that issued clarifications.
The false news was shared here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. It was also shared on Twitter here, here and here.
Conclusion: National Pakistani cricket player Usman Khan Shinwari did not pass away. His 46-year-old namesake, Usman Shinwari, passed away during a club cricket match in Lahore.