Fact-check: False quote about Pakistan cricket team attributed to sportsman Mark Chapman

Graphics circulating on Pakistani social media purportedly show a quote attributed to New Zealand cricket player Mark Chapman, mocking Pakistani players for military drills at an army camp in Kakul.

The claim is false. Chapman made no such comments.

Claim

On April 21, a user on X, formerly known as Twitter, claimed that New Zealand player Mark Chapman taunted Pakistan’s cricket team while speaking at a post-match ceremony, saying, “We didn’t do any military level training… we just finished our school exams and now came here to play on our summer break.”

The post has been viewed over 30,000 times and liked over 1,200 times, to date.

A graphic carrying Chapman’s picture and the alleged quote was also shared here, here and here.

Fact

The Hong Kong-born New Zealand cricketer, Mark Chapman, made no such statement in the media, while the New Zealand cricket team was on tour in Pakistan from April 14- 27.

The picture of Chapman circulating online was taken during a post-match ceremony on April 21. The ceremony was broadcasted live on most Pakistani channels as well as on the YouTube channel of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Chapman, who was named the Man of the Match that day, spoke for over a minute. He did not make the comments attributed to him on social media, regarding the army camp or the Pakistan cricket team.

His entire talk can be viewed here:

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