Update (27 December 2023):
Another video of a crowd chanting pro-Rohit Sharma slogans directed at Hardik Pandya is being widely circulated, purportedly as a recent event following the announcement of Hardik Pandya as the new captain of Mumbai Indians, replacing Rohit Sharma for IPL 2024. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Upon conducting a reverse image search of the viral video, it was discovered that the same video has been available on the internet since at least August 2023, showing Hardik Pandya arriving at an airport. This timeline predates the announcement made in December 2023, regarding the decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as the captain of Mumbai Indians. Furthermore, the original video does not contain any pro-Rohit Sharma slogans. The audio in the viral video appears to have been manipulated, with the addition of audio from a 2020 video.
Published (26 December 2023):
In light of Rohit Sharma’s replacement by Hardik Pandya as the captain of Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024, a video featuring fans chanting ‘Mumbai cha Raja Rohit Sharma‘ (Rohit Sharma is the King of Mumbai) directed at Hardik Pandya at an airport is being widely shared on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Visuals of Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya at the airport while the crowd shouting ‘Mumbai cha Raja Rohit Sharma‘ slogans directed at him after he was named captain of Mumbai Indians replacing Rohit Sharma.
Fact: Viral video shows Hardik Pandya at Mumbai airport in January 2020, nearly three years before the announcement to change the captain of Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024. Furthermore, the original video does not feature any pro-Rohit slogans. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the viral video led us to the same video, published on the Instagram handle ‘bollywoodpap’ on 21 January 2020. This date precedes the decision to change the captaincy of Mumbai Indians, which was made in December 2023. According to reports, viral video shows Pandya going on a personal trip at Mumbai airport. Furthermore, there are no slogans audible in the original video, unlike the viral one, suggesting that the audio in the viral video has been manipulated.
Taking this into account, we traced the slogans heard in the viral video back to another YouTube video dated 18 January 2020, at least three days before the video of Hardik Pandya was shot at Mumbai airport. This video features fans chanting ‘Mumbai cha Raja Rohit Sharma‘ while Rohit was fielding during a match.
To sum it up, an old video of Hardik Pandya with edited audio is being circulated as fans chanting pro-Rohit slogans at Hardik Pandya following the captaincy change in Mumbai Indians.
