Rahmat Shah (Image credit: Zimbabwe Cricket)
New Delhi: A social media post containing Rahmat Shah This caused widespread confusion and panic among cricket fans when many mistakenly believed that the Afghanistan batsman had died. The confusion started when Afghanistan’s all-rounder Cream paradise Along with a condolence message on Instagram, Rehmat Shah’s photo and a note written in Pashto were also shared.Soon after the post appeared online, an automated translation on Instagram incorrectly suggested that Rahmat Shah himself had died.Fans were shocked and many social media users started posting condolence messages for the cricketer.However, these reports were completely false. Rehmat Shah is alive.The condolence message was actually for the death of Rahmat Shah’s mother, not for the cricketer himself.The confusion arose from Instagram’s automatic translation feature, which mistranslated the Pashto message of Jannat. The automatic translation reads:“It is with great sadness that I hear the news of the demise of legendary player Rahmat Shah. Afghanistan national cricket team. This great tragedy has saddened me and all cricket fans. As a cricketer, I express my deepest sympathy and condolences to Rahmat Shah and his family. May Allah grant the deceased a place in Jannat al-Firdous, enlighten his grave and give courage to the bereaved to bear this trauma. Verily, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we shall return,” read an automatic Instagram translation of Kareem’s post.
Should social media platforms improve their translation tools?
However, the translation was wrong and the entire context of the original Pashto message was changed.The correct translation of Jannat’s post is:“I heard the news of the death of the mother of talented national cricketer Rehmat Shah. This great tragedy has deeply saddened me and all the cricket fans. On my behalf and as a cricketer, I express my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to Rehmat Shah and his family. May Allah give patience to the deceased and give patience to the bereaved. Bear this great sorrow. Verily we belong to Allah and verily to Him we shall return.”Rahmat Shah last played for the Afghanistan national cricket team in an ODI match against the Bangladesh national cricket team in October last year where he retired during the match.The veteran batsman represented Afghanistan in 11 Tests, 125 ODIs and one T20I, scoring over 5000 international runs during his career.
