Morphed photo shared as Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma touching PM Narendra Modi’s feet - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 23, 2023
A viral photo is being shared on social media claiming that during the Men’s Cricket World Cup final in 2023, Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma bowed to and touched the feet of PM Narendra Modi. Let’s fact-check this claim through this article.
Claim: Photo of Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma touching PM Narendra Modi’s feet during the Cricket World Cup 2023 final.
Fact: This photo is manipulated. It was taken when PM Modi was walking towards the podium to present the winners’ trophy to the Australian Cricket team. Rohit Sharma was not present in the frame, and the viral image is morphed. Hence, the claim made in the post is Flase.
To verify the authenticity of the photo, we watched the footage of the final match between India and Australia on Disney+Hotstar. Contrary to the claim, the viral photo was captured when PM Modi was walking towards the podium to present the trophy to the Australian team, not when Rohit Sharma purportedly touched his feet.
In fact, Sharma was not even in the frame as PM Modi walked towards the presentation stage.
This makes it clear that the viral photo was morphed. The disparity between the viral photo and the actual events is evident when comparing the images.
Additionally, PM Modi did visit the Indian players’ dressing room after the match to console them, and this moment was captured in footage available on the official YouTube channel of PM Modi.
To sum up, the viral photo alleging Rohit Sharma’s gesture towards PM Modi during the Cricket World Cup 2023 is morphed.