"Pak Bean" Zimbabwe vs. Pakistan Controversy

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About

"Pak Bean" Zimbabwe vs. Pakistan Controversy refers to tensions between Zimbabwe and Pakistani cricket fans due to a character known as "Pak Bean," a Mr. Bean impersonator, who visited Zimbabwe during the 2016 Harare Agriculture Show and upset some who found his likeness unconvincing and were expecting the real actor, Rowan Atkinson. The Mr. Bean impersonator reentered internet discourse ahead of the Zimbabwe vs. Pakistan ICC cricket match in October 2022 after a disgruntled Zimbabwe cricket fan expressed his hatred for Pak Bean in the Twitter replies to a tweet by the Pakistani Cricket team. Pak Bean then became the subject of numerous memes and discussions online, particularly on Twitter.

History

"Mr. Pak Bean," whose real name is Asif Muhammad, was flown into Zimbabwe in anticipation of a comedy night that was set to be held at the Harare International Conference Centre on September 3rd, 2016.^[1] On August 23rd, Zimbabwe held its annual Harare Agriculture Show, and Pak Bean was hired to stand at the booth of a company named "Splash Paints" during the fair. A video of the comedian's visit can be accessed via upload to the YouTube^[2] page Saint TV, where it gathered nearly 2,000 views in over a year (seen below).

On October 25th, 2022, the Twitter^[3] account @mhanduwe0718061 then posted a reply to a tweet from Pakistan's official Twitter page saying, "As Zimbabweans we wont forgive you…you once gave us that Fraud Pak Bean instead of Mr Bean Rowan ..we will settle the matter tomorrow just pray the rains will save you…#ZIMVSPAK." The tweet gathered over 20,000 likes in two days (seen below, left). When pressed about what "Pak Bean" means, @mhanduwe0718061 posted a photo for reference in a tweet^[4] that gathered 8,000 likes in two days (seen below, right).

Online Reactions

On October 26th, 2022, Twitter^[5] user @Gotoxytop1 became one of many to post a tweet about the aforementioned discussion about Pak Bean, gathering 50,000 likes in a day (seen below, left). The conversation was also reposted by Twitter^[6] user @dhaikilokatweet on October 26th as well, gathering over 12,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

On October 27th, Zimbabwe's cricket team then beat Pakistan in a match by one run, leading to internet discussions about Zimbabwe having exacted "revenge" on Pakistan's team for the Pak Bean incident. On October 27th, Twitter^[7] user @PitchingOutside posted a tweet about Pak Bean, gathering over 2,000 likes in a day (seen below, left). Also on October 27th, Indian comedian Danish Sait posted a tweet^[8] about Pak Bean, gathering over 40,000 likes in a day (seen below, right).

On October 27th, the President of Zimbabwe's official Twitter^[9] account congratulated their team on their victory over Pakistan and made a reference to Pak Bean, gathering over 100,000 likes in a day (seen below).