With the three-match ODI series between India and Australia coming up, the Indian cricket team arrived in Perth on 16 October 2025. The spotlight is on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have rejoined the squad after a short break from the game. Amid this, a photo (here, here, here and here) has gone viral on social media claiming to show Virat Kohli signing a Pakistan jersey. Let’s find out the truth behind this photo.
Claim: The viral photo shows Virat Kohli signing a Pakistan jersey during his visit to Perth.
Fact: The original photo shows Virat Kohli signing a Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) jersey for a fan. The viral image is edited to make it appear as if he was signing a Pakistan jersey. There is no Pakistani flag or jersey in the original visuals. Hence the claim is False.
To verify the claim, we performed a reverse image search on Google, which led us to the same photo, but instead of a Pakistan jersey, it shows Virat Kohli signing a Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) jersey. The original photo was uploaded on the X handle of RCBian Official on 16 October 2025. The setting, background, and person in the photo are identical to the viral one, indicating that the Pakistan jersey seen in the viral version was likely edited.
Further investigation led us to the original video of the incident, uploaded by RevSportz Global on 16 October 2025, with the caption: “A lucky fan of Virat Kohli from Karachi got his RCB jersey signed by the star batter.”
In the video, a fan approaches Virat Kohli while Kohli is loading luggage onto the bus and requests him to sign an RCB jersey. Kohli signs the jersey and walks away. The viral photo was taken from this moment. The fan also gets an autograph from Rohit Sharma. At the end of the video, the fan introduces himself as Sahil from Karachi, Pakistan, and displays both autographed jerseys. There is no Pakistani flag visible in the original video, confirming that the viral photo showing a Pakistan jersey was edited.
A side-by-side comparison of the viral photo and the original image of Virat Kohli signing the RCB jersey clearly shows that both are from the same event. The setting, background, and fan are identical, confirming that the viral photo claiming he signed a Pakistan jersey has been edited.
To sum up, the edited photo of Virat Kohli signing a Royal Challengers Bengaluru jersey is being falsely shared as him signing a Pakistani jersey.
