Morphed photo shared as the picture of an Indian expressing his love for Babar Azam over Virat Kohli during India vs New Zealand match - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 2, 2023
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is a picture showing an Indian expressing his love for Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam over Virat Kohli by holding a placard that has the text, “SORRY VIRAT SIR BUT BABAR AZAM IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME…#7”.  This post claims that the photo was taken during India vs New Zealand match held recently in India. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing Indian expressing his love for Babar Azam over Virat Kohli during recent India vs New Zealand match.
Fact: The image shared in the post is a morphed one. The original photo shows, “SORRY SACHIN SIR BUT M.S. DHONI IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME…#7”, text on the placard. The photo was taken during the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL match on 17 April 2018. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE
A user in the comment section of this Facebook post shared a similar photo published by ‘ESPNcricinfo’ in 2018. The original photo published by the ‘ESPNcricinfo’ shows the man holding a placard with the text, “SORRY SACHIN SIR BUT M.S. DHONI IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME…#7”. #7 is the Jersey number of former Indian cricket team Captain MS Dhoni. The image was reportedly taken during the Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL match on 17 April 2018.
Several news websites published articles sharing this photo in 2018. On comparing the viral image with that of the photo shared by ‘ESPNcricinfo’, it can be confirmed that the photo shared in the post is a morphed one.
To sum it up, a morphed photo is shared as the picture of an Indian expressing his love for Babar Azam over Virat Kohli during India vs New Zealand match.