Was Zainab Abbas deported from India during the ICC World Cup 2023? Read the Fact Check

Pakistani sports presenter Zainab Abbas was a part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) digital team. She was assigned the task of covering Pakistan’s three World Cup matches in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad, India. But she left India after presenting two matches.

Soon after she left, Pakistani users started spreading claims about her return.

Claim: Pakistani users on social media shared that she was deported from India during the coverage of the ICC World Cup 2023.

Fact Check

We investigated the viral claim. Firstly we checked her official account on Twitter. There she released a lengthy statement, mentioning the reason for her return. In her statement she wrote “My daily interactions with everyone during my stay were kind, cheerful, and with a sense of familiarity – just as I had expected. I was neither asked to leave nor was I deported.”

We also checked for some media reports. Hindustan Times and Times of India also published an article where they mentioned,” Zainab has not been deported, she has left for personal reasons, an ICC spokesperson told news agency PTI.” 

Conclusion

Thus from the fact check it becomes evident that the viral claim is misleading. She was not deported but left India for personal reasons.

DFRAC Analysis: Misleading