In the wake of India's victory against Pakistan in the Super Four round of the Asia Cup 2023, a viral photo on social media depicted Indian skipper Rohit Sharma apparently handing his Player of the Match cheque to the ground staff. However, India TV Fact Check team has debunked this claim, revealing that the image was digitally manipulated, and there was no official confirmation from the Indian side regarding any award distribution.
Upon conducting a reverse image search on the viral post, it was found that several news reports acknowledged the essential role played by the groundsmen during the India-Pakistan match, which was affected by rain and extended to a reserve day. However, none of these reports featured the ground staff holding a replica of the Player of the Match award cheque in the manner depicted in the viral image. A screenshot from HotStar, the official broadcaster of the Asia Cup 2023, also showed that the replica award cheque was digitally inserted.
It is worth noting that Rohit Sharma was not declared the Player of the Match in this particular game; the honor went to former Indian Captain Virat Kohli. While both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli acknowledged the hard work of the ground staff during the post-match presentation, there is no credible news source or report confirming the viral image's authenticity.
Had Rohit Sharma indeed made such a gesture, it would likely have received widespread media coverage, but no such reports were found.
Conclusion
The viral image of Rohit Sharma handing over the Player of the Match cheque to the ground staff is proven to be false, as confirmed by India TV Fact Check team.
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