Shoaib Akhtar was a toddler: Pakistani journalist shuts down Indian chef’s lies about Pak cricket team

A viral clip from an Indian podcast has come under fire after a major factual error was pointed out by a Pakistani journalist.

Chef Arun Chauhan claimed that Pakistan was the most “foodie” team he had observed, alleging a lack of discipline among players. To back his statement, he narrated an incident from a Test match at Wankhede Stadium, where he said Shoaib Akhtar displayed a dominant personality and ignored team instructions.

However, journalist Faizan Lakhani quickly dismantled the claim with a timeline check.

“Kya yaar, kuch bhi! Agar propaganda hi chalana hai, at least facts tou sahi rakh lo. Pakistan has played only one game at Wankhede in history, and Shoaib Akhtar was just four-years-old at that time.”

He further added, “Even this chef wouldn’t have been more than 10–12 years old back then. But of course, why bother with facts when you know your ‘target audience’ won’t verify anything when you fabricate any story targeting Pakistani players.”

Pakistan has only played one Test at Wankhede — in 1979 — making the anecdote factually impossible. Shoaib Akhtar, born in 1975, would have been just four years old at the time.

The clip has since gone viral for all the wrong reasons, turning a casual claim into a widely shared example of how quickly narratives collapse when basic facts are checked.