Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, instead of PM Manmohan Singh, was photographed with the T20 Indian men’s cricket team following their World Cup win in 2007.
Fact
2007 World Cup winning team met both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.
The T20 World Cup-winning India men’s squad is set to fly home from hurricane-hit Barbados via a charter flight on Tuesday evening with the contingent expected to be felicitated by PM Narendra Modi upon arrival, which is being viewed as a political stunt across several sections of social media and by the Opposition. In response to the criticism, multiple users are sharing an old photo, claiming that when India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, it was Sonia Gandhi and not the then PM Manmohan Singh who was photographed with the players.
The users questioned why the then president of All India Congress Committee (AICC) Gandhi met the 2007 winning team when she did not hold a government position at the time, implying that the photoshoot was proof that the country was being run by a party “built on a surname”, following the rules of dynasty and dictatorship.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to the photo on Getty Images, dated October 30, 2007. “Sonia Gandhi, President of All India Congress Committee (AICC) and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson along with Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his 20-20 Cricket World Cup teammates during a meeting at Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi, 30 October 2007. The 20-20 Cricket World Cup winners,” read the caption of the photo, which was credited to Sipra Das/The India Today.
Newschecker then ran a keyword search for “Manmohan Singh photo 2007 T20 WC”, which led us to this Times of India report, dated October 30, 2007, stating that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh felicitated the winning team at his residence.
A further search led us to a photo of the team with PM Manmohan Singh, dated October 30, 2007, with the caption reading, “The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh with the Twenty-Twenty Cricket Team, in New Delhi on October 30, 2007”. Another photo from the meeting was taken by AFP too, confirming that the Indian cricket team did meet the then PM Manmohan Singh following their historic triumph at the 2007 T20 World Cup.
Conclusion
The 2007 T20 cricket World Cup winning team had met the then PM Manmohan Singh and not just Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the same day, contrary to the viral claims.
Result: False
Source
Getty Images, October 30, 2007
Getty Images, October 30, 2007
PMO website, October 30, 2007
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
