‘Cupcake’ ad took down by broadcasters after India’s 76-run defeat against South Africa ​

The broadcasters of the T20 World Cup took down a controversial advertisement in which a South African team was indirectly called ‘chokers’.

The host broadcasters of the T20 World Cup 2026, Star Sports and JioHotsar, had released a pre-match promo  for the India vs South Africa that became a controversial advertisement.

The promo, which was set in a cafe, showed an Indian fan trolling a Proteas supporter over a cupcake and reminding him of the 2024 T20 World Cup final loss. At the end of the ad , Proteas were termed as ‘chokers’. After the ad released, it was widely criticized by cricket fans.

On Sunday, the ad backfired for the Indian fans after India got a 76-run defeat against South Africa. Playing in Ahmedabad, the Proteas posted 187/7 in 20 overs, with David Miller smashing 63 off just 35 balls. In response, India collapsed to 111 all out.

The backlash also took an interesting turn when South African actor and influencer Thanja Vuur shared a humorous Instagram post poking fun at Star Sports' ‘cupcake’ theme. In the video, Vuur is seen eating a cupcake while showing the scorecard of India's defeat on screen, captioned “So sweet.”

The advertisement was deleted from Star Sports and JioHotstar’s X handle (formerly Twitter) account, though it remains unclear whether the removal happened before or after the Super 8 match.

This was India's first loss in 18 ICC matches across formats since the 2023 World Cup final defeat to Australia at the same venue.