T20 WC Final: From ‘panauti’ to ‘reverse-jinx’ hero, Prafull Billore's playful social media war against South Africa

Billore shared a horde of images photoshopping himself to pose with South African cricketers ahead of the India vs South Africa T20 World Cup final.

As the electrifying India-South Africa T20 World Cup final kicked off, all Indian cricket enthusiasts fervently rooted for a triumphant outcome for their team. Amidst this fervour, Prafull Billore, the founder of MBA Chai Wala Group, has taken social media by storm in the most unexpected way.

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It all started innocently enough when Billore posted a selfie featuring cricketer Suryakumar Yadav, which unwittingly led to a spate of online banter dubbing him as the notorious “panauti”, meaning unlucky, after Yadav's lacklustre performance in the league. Rather than shying away from the limelight, Billore embraced this title and put a humorous spin on the trolling, photoshopping himself into images with South African cricketers.

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Soon, fans followed, posting Billore's photoshopped images with various South African players in a "reverse-jinx" scheme. The internet exploded with laughter as he shared hilarious images alongside English cricket stalwarts like Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer, all in good-natured jest, following India's spectacular 68-run triumph over England in the semi-finals, where Billore's mischief with the English team garnered widespread attention.

From "panauti" to now being hailed as a "freedom fighter" against bad luck, Billore's quirky photos have become a rallying cry on social media, especially as India takes on South Africa in a crucial last step to the World Cup.

Armed with a newfound reputation for his reverse-jinx prowess, he boldly posts selfies with South Africa's cricket stars, using the hashtag #IStandWithSouthAfrica.

Here are some of the memes circulating the internet:

“I thought to share this after the match, but I can’t wait any longer. Thank you for using your reverse superpowers to support India and tirelessly working for India’s win!" a user posted.

“The President Cyril Ramaphosa, just tweeted about changing the name of their country from South Africa to the “Republic of Prafull Billore,”” another said.

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