No, former cricketer Wasim Akram did not allege Asia Cup 2023 final was 'fixed'

On September 17, the Indian men's cricket team clinched its eighth Asia Cup title after defeating Sri Lanka by a margin of whooping 10 wickets. The host country had suffered a humiliating defeat to India, who chased the score with 263 balls remaining—the biggest such win (in terms of balls remaining) in a final match in one-day international cricket.

What is the claim?

Sri Lanka's dismal show in the finals after a spate of stellar performances throughout the tournament prompted several social media users to raise apprehensions about the September 17 match, alleging it had been fixed. Many posts also claimed that several former cricket players had raised concerns about match-fixing in the Asia Cup 2023 final.

One such viral post (archived here) claimed that Pakistani cricket commentator and former cricketer Wasim Akram made a statement on Star Sports channel alleging that the India-Sri Lanka final match had been fixed. The post claimed that Akram had purportedly said, "The way SL turned up today it seems like some sort of arrangement was already made behind the scenes, to see a team that has reached the finals play in this manner raises quite a few ques, but maybe we should keep quiet and not upset the ICC & BCCI (sic)."

Screenshot of social media posts claiming that Akram alleged the Asia Cup 2023 final was fixed. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

Did Akram make such a statement?

Given that the Asia Cup is a major international tournament, a statement about probable match-fixing made by a prominent cricket personality like Akram would have been reported widely by sports news outlets; however, we came across no such report from any credible media organization. News reports about comments by Akram after the final only mentioned him calling the upcoming India-Australia ODI series' unnecessary.' Akram had reportedly said the series could add injuries and fatigue to the players ahead of the World Cup.  

We also found a post on X by Akram that indirectly spoke about fake news. On September 19, the former Pakistan skipper wrote, "People need to stop thinking everything on social media is true. The bad is always easier to believe than the good. Fake news, in our part of the world, ignites unnecessary controversies, sparks hate and toughens the rift between us something that both countries do not need any more of. Enough is enough!(sic)"

Logically Facts also reached out to Arsalan Shah, Akram's manager, who refuted the claim about the cricket legend making allegations about match-fixing. "It was fake news, keyboard warriors just want to spread hatred...," he said.

Indian sports journalist Khurram Habib also told us that Akram hadn't made any comments about match-fixing during the post-match broadcast. Habib said that Akram had instead spoken about the scheduling of the Asia Cup. "Trolls on social media often use names of top cricketers to express their feelings," he added.

We also found that the same statement about match-fixing, allegedly made by Akram, had been attributed to a few other cricketers and sports personalities, such as Nasser Hussain, Andrew Symonds, and Chaminda Vaas. We found no evidence that either of these former sportspersons had made such a comment.

Screenshot of social media posts claiming that various sports personalities had made the same allegation. (Source: X/Facebook/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

While we could not find a video of the post-match broadcast, we have reached out to Star Sports for further confirmation. This story will be updated if and when we receive a response.

The verdict

No evidence supports the claim that cricket legend Wasim Akram made a statement accusing India and Sri Lanka of having fixed the Asia Cup 2023 final. The statement has been fabricated to spread false information.

(With inputs from Sandun Arosha Fernando.)