A picture of former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni is going viral with a claim that Dhoni was seen touching Tendulkar's feet during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
An archive of the post can be seen here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
(More archives of such posts can be seen here, here, and here.)
Are these claims true?: No, the picture has been digitally altered to show Dhoni bending down to touch Tendulkar's feet.
The original image showed both cricketers laughing while talking to each other ahead of the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Wankhede Stadium on 8 April.
It should be noted that Tendulkar serves as a mentor for MI and Dhoni is the skipper of CSK.
What led us to the truth?: A Google Lens search led us to a similar image posted on the official Twitter handle of IPL.
It was uploaded on 8 April and was captioned, "2 Legends. 1 Frame."
A similar picture was also posted on CSK's Twitter handle.
A comparison between the viral image and the one uploaded on IPL's Twitter showed that the former had been edited.
Both images carry the same background and show some similarities.
When we compared both images, we found that the viral one has been digitally altered.
(Source: IPL Twitter/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)
We also found a video which showed both players meeting with each other but it did not show visuals of Dhoni touching Tendulkar's feet.
CSK vs MI on 8 April: Both teams took on each other at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium for the first time during the ongoing 2023 IPL.
CSK was able to get the better of MI and won the match by 7 wickets.
The Quint had covered the pre-match meet up between Tendulkar and Dhoni which carried several images of the two cricketers.
Conclusion: The image has been edited to show MS Dhoni touching Sachin Tendulkar's feet during the Indian Premier League.
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