Is Afghanistan star cricketer Rahmat Shah no more? Viral post sparks panic among fans

NEW DELHI: A social media post involving Rahmat Shah triggered widespread confusion and panic among cricket fans after many mistakenly believed the Afghanistan batter had passed away. The confusion began when Afghanistan all-rounder Karim Janat shared a condolence message on Instagram along with Rahmat Shah’s picture and a note written in Pashto.

Soon after the post surfaced online, automated translation on Instagram incorrectly suggested that Rahmat Shah himself had died.



Fans were left shocked and several social media users started posting condolence messages for the cricketer.

However, the reports were completely false. Rahmat Shah is alive.

The condolence message was actually for the death of Rahmat Shah’s mother, not the cricketer himself.

The confusion stemmed from Instagram’s automated translation feature, which mistranslated Janat’s Pashto message. The automated translation read:

"With great sadness, I heard the news of the passing of Rahmat Shah, the legendary player of the Afghanistan National Cricket Team. This great tragedy has deeply saddened me and all cricket fans. As a cricket player myself, I express my deepest sympathy and condolences to Rahmat Shah and his family. May Allah grant the deceased paradise, lighten his grave, and give his family the patience to bear this immense grief. Indeed, to Allah we belong, and truly, to Him we shall return," the automated Instagram translation of Karim's post read.


However, the translation was inaccurate and changed the entire context of the original Pashto message.

The correct translation of Janat’s post read:

"I heard the news of the death of the respected mother of Rahmat Shah, the talented player of the national cricket team. This great tragedy made me and all cricket fans very sad. On my own behalf and as a cricket player, I express my deepest sympathy and condolences to Rahmat Shah and his respected family. May Allah grant the deceased Paradise, fill her grave with light, and give her family patience to bear this great sorrow. Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return."


Rahmat Shah last played for Afghanistan national cricket team in an ODI against Bangladesh national cricket team in October last year, where he retired hurt during the match.

The experienced batter has represented Afghanistan in 11 Tests, 125 ODIs and one T20I, scoring more than 5,000 international runs during his career.
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