Disappointed Cricket Fan

In the digital world, we see thousands of hilarious memes on an everyday basis, but only a few of them manage to leave a lasting impression. One such was a cricket-related meme, where an angry fan's reaction went viral on social media.

Disappointed Muhammad Sarim Akhtar, also known as Disappointed Cricket Fan and Angry Pakistani Fan, is a reaction image meme featuring the Pakistani cricket fan Muhammad Sarim Akhtar wearing a red flannel shirt and a puffy vest appearing annoyed and dismayed during a cricket match in mid-June 2019. On June 12th, 2019, Australia faced Pakistan in the cricket world cup. During the match, a professional cricket player on the Pakistan team, Asif Ali dropped a catch. Cameras then pulled away from the player and focused on a fan in the stands watching with his hands on his hips. That day, Facebook users and english.eminem shared the video. Since then, he has become a cult meme. In just a few minutes of sharing, the image of the man in that video became viral. And within four months, the post received more than 790 reactions, 330 comments, and 225 shares.

The iconic image of Sarim has been used in many ways and with multiple things since that day. He has become a lot more popular in Europe. He himself once revealed in an interview, “One person in Europe asked me if he could use my face on his credit card so that my disappointed expression would prevent him from using his card too often.” Since then, Muhammad Sarim Akhtar has become a symbol of frustration, disappointment, anger, and annoyance in the sports world. His face has got immense popularity among cricket-loving nations though the memed Sarim has surfaced on multiple social media platforms and been used by audiences of many other sports. It also went way beyond the cricket space, especially in countries like Uganda, Botswana, Malaysia, and Indonesia as well. It’s relatable because it fits into any situation that involves an unpopular decision.

## Disappointed Muhammad Sarim Akhtar/Disappointed Cricket Fan

### Recognizable Features

 Perhaps the feature that makes this meme most recognizable is his angry look blended with worry, disproval, nervousness, annoyance, frustration, and disappointment. His body language speaks volumes of how much exasperation he is having at that crucial stage of the game moment for dropping the catch by his fellow Pakistani player. Sarim wearing a red flannel shirt and a puffy vest gives the impression of a typical middle-aged brown-skinned disproving Asian man. Another distinguishable feature is that he stands there, emotionless, looking disappointed with his hands on the waist, and said nothing. We also notice the national flags of Australia and Pakistan with the cricket scores displayed on the screen thus indicating that there was a cricket match going on.

### Cultural Context

The cultural context of this meme is greatly connected with the cricket culture of Southeast Asia (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan). Though the actual person of this meme is from Pakistan, his emotions represent what people from the other three countries feel about cricket. With a great many vigorous devotees, cricket is one of the supreme cultures in Pakistan as well. It is hard to get a vacant seat in the stadium whenever there is a cricket match in the country. The culture of cricket also consists of its festivals which are celebrated in the form of victories. In addition to making individuals nibble their fingernails in stress and tension, cricket plays a noteworthy job in providing many occasions for celebrations and sometimes frustrations. Every win is celebrated, cheered on, and admired by all. But whenever the teams lose, all the people of the countries feel disappointed, angry, and dismayed.

### Audience

In the beginning, Sarim was popular among fans of a particular sport (cricket) who needed to express their anger and frustration when their team was not doing well in that sport. Then his audience expanded, and he has become the symbol of anger and disappointment for almost all the sports played in Southeast Asia. Over the last couple of years, his meme traveled across the globe and went beyond the cricket space. He is now connected with the corporate world and the business community. He has been offered to be a part of a Coca-Cola advertisement campaign with his cricketing idol, Wasim Akram. Sarim Akhtar now created other social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter, where he is seen sharing his own memes with users of those social media platforms. Currently, Sarim is considering turning his meme into an NFT since he has already received multiple offers. Very recently, he got featured in the Hong Kong Museum of memes which gave him the opportunity to get connected with real-world (not virtual) audiences.

### Circulation

Later that day of June 12th, 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) tweeted a GIF of the moment. The tweet received more than 20,000 likes and 3,300 retweets in less than four months. That day, other cricket fans shared images of Sarim on Facebook. Several media outlets reported on the memes, including Mashable, [2] News18,[3] India Today,[4] MSN[5] , and more. The following day, Sarim himself tweeted,[6] "Loving the meme guys. The next match is crucial." The tweet received more than 100 likes.

### Ethical Issues

There is a widespread assumption that what happens online is somehow less serious or real. Online humor can actually be more ethically fraught than offline playfulness. Some internet memes and other digital content can travel further, be decontextualized more quickly, and be accessed instantaneously by millions of people, with the click of a link – without the original creator’s consent or even awareness. Some of the iterations can even be further removed from the original story and hence be destructive, antagonistic, and alienating for him and many others. In this case, Sarim is now being taken out of the cricketing context and used in multiple non-cricket and non-sports contexts. We are unsure of whether he has given consent to those iterations. Before amplifying a meme even for good reasons, that can inadvertently prolong that meme’s life, it is critical to consider what impact reblogging, retweeting, or commenting might have.

### Impact

It has a great impact on the actual person himself. Before people started meming him, he was a very ordinary cricket fan. After being memed and widely circulated throughout social media platforms, he became a celebrity. And the most interesting part is that he started liking that stardom. Another impact that he brings with his being memed is that many other people who do not know much about cricket are getting attracted to cricket and thus helping cricket become a popular sport all over the world.

### References

[1] Facebook – english.eminem's Post

[2] Mashable (via Wayback Machine) – This Angry Fan At The Australia Vs Pakistan Match Is Pure Meme Material!

[3] News18 – A Disappointed Pakistani Fan During Australia Clash Has Become Internet's Spirit Animal

[4] India Today – Pakistan vs Australia World Cup match gave Internet a meme for all seasons. Even ICC agrees

[5] MSN – World Cup 2019: Angry fan's reaction during Aus vs Pak match goes viral (page unavailable)

[6] Twitter – @msarimakhtar's Tweet