False claim: Sri Lankan Captain Kusal Perera lashed on fans for criticizing the team

July 5, 2021 Disha Palkhiwala

Spread the truth:

The claim is made on Sri Lankan Captain Kusal Perera that he lashed out at fans during the press conference conducted on June 28, 2021. It is shared on various social media posts. The comment comes in response to criticism after the players violated COVID 19 restriction during an international series and #unfollowcricketers went viral.

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The post mentions the text in the Sinhala language. The post embossed the text in the graphical format and the captain’s photo underneath. As mentioned by Boomlive.in, the graphic purports to show a quote attributed to Perera, with the superimposed Sinhala-language text reading: “‘Degrading us on social media will not aid in achieving victories and will only crush us mentally, leading to more defeats. If you can’t stop criticising just stop watching matches.’ – Leader Kusal at the press conference held today”

The post was circulated after the breach of COVID 19 quarantine restrictions by the Sri Lanka cricket team, as reported by France 24.

Various memes were circulated for the same.

Truth

The viral post of Kusal Perera lashing the fans is false.

Kusal Perera issued an apology for the breach of quarantine regulations in England as well as for the defeat in the series.

The claim made was false. Perera did not make any such comments in the press conference. We found the youtube video for the conference held on June 29, 2021.

Nowhere in the video, Perera lashed the fans to stop watching the match, if they cannot stop criticising the team. Instead, he issued an apology for the violations of the quarantine rules in England as well as for the defeat of the team in the series.

The video is in the Sinhala language. The translation of the video as reported by boomlive.in is, “I apologize as a captain because, with the issues that have emerged, we have to appreciate that our fans are still with us”. Perera could be heard saying at the video’s 17-minute mark. “I ask that you continue to support us in this manner in the future as well. We plan to correct our mistakes and restore our winning mentality as soon as possible.”

On June 27, 2021, Sri Lankan fans launched a campaign to shun the team on social media after the team’s defeat in the series against England. #unfollowcricketers went viral. Kusal Mendis lost his followers after the campaign.