Sachin Tendulkar Posing With Virat Kohli’s Portrait? No, Viral Image Is Edited

A photograph allegedly showing Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar posing in front of Virat Kohli’s portrait at the Lord’s in England is being shared and circulated across social media platforms.

Multiple X and Facebook users shared the image with the caption, “Sachin Tendulkar taking a picture with Virat Kohli’s photo at Lord’s.” Newschecker, however, found it to be manipulated. 

Such posts can be seen here, here and here.

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Fact Check/Verification

We began the investigation by looking up keywords “Sachin Tendulkar,” “Virat Kohli,” “portrait” and “Lord’s” on Google which did not yield any credible results substantiating the viral claim. 

On carefully analysing the viral image, we noticed that the portrait’s frame was distorted. We also noticed an illogical word printed on Kohli’s jersey, pointing towards manipulation. 

We then conducted a reverse image search on the viral image which led us to an X post by Tendulkar, dated July 10, 2025. “I first visited Lord’s as a teenager in 1988, and returned in 1989 with the Star Cricket Club team. I remember standing near the pavilion, soaking in history and dreaming quietly. Today, to have my portrait unveiled at this very place is a feeling that’s hard to put into words,” the cricket legend said in the post. 

It also featured a photograph of the former Indian cricketer posing in front of his own portrait.

After comparing both the visuals side-by-side, we found several similarities leading us to conclude that the viral photo is actually an edited version of the image taken from a different angle at the same event. For instance, Tendulkar was seen in the same attire in both the visuals, and the portraits are seen hanging on the same back wall. We also noticed that the backdrop of both the paintings had the same markings. 

Tendulkar’s portrait was unveiled at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Museum at Lord’s on Thursday, before the start of the third test match between India and England. It is painted by Stuart Pearson Wright from a photograph taken by the artist at the cricket icon’s home 18 years ago. The portrait will be on display in MCC Museum until later this year and will then be relocated to the Pavilion.

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The official X handles of the BCCI and the Lord’s Cricket Ground also shared multiple visuals (seen here, here and here) from the unveiling of Tendulkar’s portrait. Such visuals showed the cricket icon in the same attire, posing with his portrait in the identical background as seen in the viral image. 

What About ‘Kohli’s Portrait’ Then? 

We did not find any credible report/record about Kohli’s portrait at the museum so far. 

Sachin Tendulkar is the fifth Indian cricketer to have a painting displayed at the MCC Museum. It also houses the portraits of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi and Dilip Vengsarkar. 

We then snipped out that portrait from the viral image, and ran it past multiple AI detection tools which found it to be created using artificial intelligence. Website ‘Is It AI?’ found a 95% probability of the portrait being AI generated, and tool ‘AI or Not’ concluded it to be “likely AI generated or deepfake.” Similarly, platform ‘WasItAI’ stated, “We are quite confident that this image, or significant part of it, was created by AI.”

It is likely that an AI generated portrait of Kohli, similar to Tendulkar’s painting, was superimposed on the original image to peddle a false claim.

Also Read: Old Video of Pappu Yadav Crying Shared With False Claim About Bihar Bandh Protest

Conclusion

Hence, we find that the viral photo, claiming to show Sachin Tendulkar posing with Virat Kohli’s portrait at the Lord’s, is manipulated.

Sources
X Post By Sachin Tendulkar, Dated July 10, 2025
Report By IANS, Dated July 10, 2025
Report By Mint, Dated July 10, 2025
Is It AI? Website
AI or Not Website
WasItAI Website