No, The Image Doesn't Show an Indian Fan Supporting Pakistan Cricket Captain

The original placard mentions Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's names.

Fact-check: An old image is being shared to claim that an Indian fan supported Babar Azam during India vs New Zealand T20I match. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

An altered image showing an Indian fan holding a placard in support of the Pakistan national cricket team captain Babar Azam is going viral on social media.

The claim states that this fan was attending the India vs New Zealand T20I match that happened on Friday, 27 January in Ranchi.

• The placard read, "SORRY VIRAT SIR BUT BABAR AJAM IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME....#7".

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What did the original placard say?: The original placard mentioned the names of Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

• The photo was taken during an Indian Premium League (IPL) match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 17 April 2018.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on the image which led us to the original image from 2018.

• We noticed Mumbai Indian's flag in the image.

• The placard also mentioned '#7', which was Dhoni's jersey number.

MI flag and jersey number 7 have been pointed out in this image. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

• We came across a Facebook post posted by a sports news website ESPN Cricinfo from 18 April 2018.

• The placard in this image carried a text that read, "SORRY SACHIN SIR BUT M.S. DHONI IS GOD OF CRICKET FOR ME....#7."

An archive of the post can be seen here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

• The caption read, "MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar?" and credits were given to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

• We also found the same image on ESPN Cricinfo's website.

• The caption of the image stated that this was clicked on 17 April 2018 during an IPL match between MI and RCB.

The original image dates back to 2018.

(Source: BCCI/ ESPN Cricinfo/Screenshot)

A comparison between the viral image and the original image.

The viral image and the original image.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

Conclusion: An old image with Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni's names was edited to add Virat Kohli and Babar Azam's name and shared with a false claim.

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