A viral post on social media claims that Indian cricketer Virat Kohli welcomed the Pakistan cricket team to India for the Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 and even stated that he would host a party for them at his home. The post, shared on a Facebook page called 'Daily News Valley Islamabad,' is accompanied by a screenshot that appears to show the post from Virat Kohli's official account, complete with his photo and the username @amiVkohli.
Screenshot of fake claim made by Kohli's parody account.
However, upon investigation, it was revealed that the post is a parody and not from Virat Kohli's official account (@imVkohli). The parody account, @amiVkohli, had shared this misleading post on September 28, 2023. The caption in English reads, "After a long 7 years, I heartily welcome the arrival of the Pakistan cricket team to my country. Especially for my friends, I will host a party at my home for Shadab. Spread love, always love, and happiness to all."
Upon checking Virat Kohli's official Twitter account, the most recent posts were related to the E1 Series (Tree) Retweet on October 1. Furthermore, on October 1, Virat Kohli's account also featured sponsored posts from a beverage company. Notably, on September 27, the same date mentioned in the viral post, Virat Kohli had posted only a congratulatory message for the Indian women's team on their gold medal win at the Asian Games. There was no post related to welcoming the Pakistan cricket team on his official account.
Screenshot of Virat Kohli's parody and official account
To verify the authenticity of the viral post, an investigation was conducted comparing the real and parody accounts. The fake account (@amiVkohli) had only 952 followers, whereas Virat Kohli's official account (@imVkohli) boasts 58.2 million followers. Additionally, both accounts had identical bios, with @amiVkohli clearly stating that it is a parody account.
Conclusion
The viral post claiming that Virat Kohli welcomed the Pakistan cricket team is false. It was posted from a parody account, and there is no such post on Virat Kohli's official social media account.
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