Fake or Real? Gautam Gambhir & Shahid Afridi fight goes viral on social media

In the era of viral content and advanced AI, deepfakes have led to major confusion and misinformation. One such AI-generated video has gone viral recently, of a fake yet convincingly real-looking physical fight between arch-rivals Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi. While the video shows the two former cricketers engaged in a fistfight, the video is not real.

The rivalry between Gambhir and Afridi has often grabbed attention with their infamous on-field altercation on November 11, 2007, during an India vs Pakistan ODI in Kanpur. The on-field incident saw both players engaging in a heated verbal exchange after Gambhir hit Afridi for a boundary and collided with him while running a single. Umpire Ian Gould had to intervene to prevent the argument from turning physical. Both players were heavily fined for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct.

Over the years, the two have continued their war of words across interviews, social media posts, and even books. Afridi mocked Gambhir’s personality in his autobiography, while Gambhir accused Afridi of needing psychiatric help. Now, with AI-generated deepfakes trending across platforms, a new video has gone viral showing a made-up physical fight between the two cricketers. The video uses old footage with manipulated movements and reactions.

Check the video below:

IND vs PAK Test series took place during state of war

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IND vs PAK Test series took place during state of war

Pata nahi ab kis muh se khelga: Shahid Afridi

Recently, Shahid Afridi took a dig at the Indian team for refusing to play against Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) semifinal. The Indian team, under Yuvraj Singh's captaincy, walked out of the tournament rather than face Pakistan, citing heightened political relations following the Pahalgam attack. Following which Afridi took a dig at the opposition team.

"Pata nahi ab kis muh se khelga par khelega hamare sath hi (Don't know from which face India will play, but they will have to play against us only)," he said.

Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir, now head coach of the Indian national team, was caught in a verbal spat with The Oval’s pitch curator Lee Fortis ahead of the fifth Test against England. The eyewitnesses said Gambhir was visibly frustrated with the curator’s attitude towards the Indian support staff, leading to a heated confrontation that had to be diffused by the support staff.