Cricket fans fume at Adam Gilchrist situation after Ricky Ponting storm at World Cup

Aussie cricket great Adam Gilchrist has hit out on social media after fake quotes attributed to him went viral around the world. The wicket-keeping hero took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning to slam the situation and state that the quotes were completely made up.

A graphic had been doing the rounds on social media perpetuating that Gilchrist had said: “Pakistan (is) the worst Asian team in Australian conditions, what (have) they won here in the last 35 years?” A social media user had then fired back with: “I know Pak performance is not up to the mark in Australia. For Adam’s knowledge, Pakistan won ‘92 WC (World Cup) in Australia. We played WC T20 2022 final there too.”

'DUMB': David Warner cops backlash as helicopter plan locked in

GOOD NEWS: Positive development for Meg Lanning amid fan concerns

That prompted Gilchrist to jump on and state that he hadn't said anything of the like. “I never said this. Absolutely fake, made up quotes,” he said. “Pakistan were excellent at times this summer, against a world champion Aust team and very nearly pinched a Test or two.”

Pakistan were thrashed by 360 runs in the first Test, but produced more fight in the second and third. They lost by 79 runs in the Boxing Day Test and by eight wickets at the SCG, with some sub-par fielding costing them a chance at victory on multiple occasions.

Cricket fans were quick to condemn the situation that Gilchrist was forced to deal with, with many pointing out the sad realities of social media in the digital age. “I didn’t think you would have said this, but so nice of you to clarify,” one person wrote.

Another added: “Already knew that a cricketer like Adam Gilchrist would never say such things to demean a cricketing nation." While a third wrote: "I didn't believe that when I heard this."

Ricky Ponting caught in similar fake quote controversy

Gilchrist is the latest high-profile figure to fall victim to such a scam. Ricky Ponting, Nasser Hussain and Maria Sharapova have all had made-up quotes attributed to them on social media in recent times.

It marks the second time that Gilchrist has called out made-up quotes, after a similar situation involving a fake claim about Rohit Sharma and the BCCI. Ponting also found himself at the centre of a storm over a fake quote after the ODI World Cup final last year.

A verified account claimed that Ponting said: "This is a win of justice against cricket mafia. Your money and power is still not winning World Cups for you. How embarrassing. Ponting owned India and BCCI."

A tweet with the fake quote was viewed more than one million times, and Ponting's management was forced to issue a statement that he never said it. It came after Australia stunned the previously unbeaten India in the final to win the World Cup.

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.