Fact check: Are Sam and Tom Curran joining Zimbabwe?

A major development broke out on social media on Wednesday, claiming that England cricketers Sam Curran and Tom Curran have committed themselves to playing for Zimbabwe.

The English cricketers' father, Kevin Curran, had represented Zimbabwe in 11 One-Day Internationals, while their youngest brother, Ben Curran, recently made his debut for the Chevrons. Interestingly, Sam and Tom's grandfather Kevin Patrick Curran has also represented the country in international cricket at a time when it was named Rhodesia.

Since the Curran family has a lineage of cricketers playing for Zimbabwe, nothing would surprise anyone if Sam and Tom, too, turn up in the Zimbabwean threads in international cricket. Senior journalist Adam Theo, who is quite active in Zimbabwe cricket circles, claimed that the duo will be making the switch from playing for the English team to the country where their family has played.

"I can now confirm that former England Cricketers Sam and Tom Curran have now officially committed to Zimbabwe Cricket! Tom Curran is immediately available while Sam must wait a few months before ICC confirms his switch from England. High level talks have been ongoing for the past month following Zimbabwe’s successful World Cup run in India and Sri Lanka," Theo shared on 'X'.

Are Sam Curran and Tom Curran eligible to play for Zimbabwe?

However, it must be noted that Theo is playing an April Fools prank with more than thirty-five thousand of his followers online. Sam Curran isn't Zimbabwe-born, which disqualifies him from representing the country in internationals. For non-birth citizenship, he must complete a minimum of four years of ordinary residency in Zimbabwe to be eligible for a contract from Zimbabwe Cricket.

Tom, on the other hand, was born in Cape Town, South Africa – eventually leading him out of contention too. Since he hasn't played international cricket for England in the recent past, making it possible for him to be handed a Zimbabwean cap, he is currently based in the United Kingdom and will not be completing four years of ordinary residency.

Moreover, neither the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) nor Zimbabwe Cricket has made any official announcement regarding the matter, meaning that Theo's claim is simply a rumour, aimed at pranking the public and farming fan engagement on his social media account. The post has already been seen by half a million people. 

Moreover, the picture used by Theo in his post has been generated using AI, as the cricketers are seen wearing a Zimbabwe jersey from the 2022 T20 World Cup but are seen donning their England caps. CricTracker encourages readers to not fall for rumours and always check for highly credible sources before believing any rumours going around in the media.