Following Pakistan’s defeat in the semi-final match against Australia on Thursday night, various Indian accounts on Twitter initiated a series of propaganda tweets about Pakistani fans abusing Hassan Ali for dropping a catch and hating on him for being Shia. Multiple social media users from across the border claimed that Hassan was being trolled by fans in Pakistan because he belongs to the Shia sect and his wife is an Indian.
However, the claim was entirely false as Hassan Ali does not belong to the Shia sect. Moreover, the few tweets that were attacking Hassan Ali did not have sectarian hatred. But the Indian accounts shared old videos from anti-Shia rallies in Pakistan where hateful slogans were being chanted, falsely claiming that the slogans were against Hassan Ali.
win or lose is part of the game but
Hasan Ali is getting a lot of hate and abuse in Pakistan just because he is a #Shia Muslim. I stand with @RealHa55an and his family against the hate mindset of Pakistan.#PAKVSAUS #T20WorldCup#ShiaGenocide #ShiaMuslims#IStandWithHasanAli pic.twitter.com/ygoTbwwxEg— Ritesh prajapati (@riteshvnspraja1) November 11, 2021
https://twitter.com/ragav1221/status/1458884106113093633
Hassan dropped a crucial catch of Australian batsman Matthew Wade during Shaheen Afridi’s bowling in the penultimate over of the match. Wade then went on to hit three consecutive sixes to secure Australia a place in Sunday’s final.
While cricket followers in Pakistan were disappointed and heartbroken at the loss, numerous among them took to Twitter to defend and support Hassan Ali. Fans lauded the team’s effort throughout the tournament and reminded each other that one dropped catch was no metric to judge a player while reminiscing about Ali’s incredible performance during Pakistan’s successful Champions Trophy campaign in 2017.
My TL is nothing but full of love and compassion for Hassan Ali, which is how I know I pick great people to follow
— Reem Khurshid (@ReemKhurshid) November 11, 2021
Me after seeing that picture of Hassan Ali where he's crying: pic.twitter.com/rTCVZ8g2nh
— Oshaz (@ThisisOshaz_) November 11, 2021
Fellow cricketers, including Pakistan’s women cricket teams captain Bismah Maroof and Shadab Khan, also came out to appreciate and commend the fast bowler.
https://twitter.com/maroof_bismah/status/1458868833066889217
.@RealHa55an you are a champion. The entire team is with you. To all the fans, everyone goes through tough times, we are all human beings capable of errors. Remember the joy Hasan has given you, don’t do personal attacks please. He is Pakistan’s match-winner. #WeStandWithHasanAli pic.twitter.com/g9UzkGHPim
— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) November 12, 2021
People on social media also reminded those spreading hate that neither was Hassan a Shia nor was he being targeted based on his religious affiliations.
https://twitter.com/IamYasif/status/1459085250680836096
Earlier Indian fans had targeted Muhammad Shami, the Indian fast bowler, because of his faith, after the loss to Pakistan in the opening game of the tournament.
