Following Rajasthan Royals’ defeat to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026, a picture purportedly showing teenage cricket sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi breaking down in tears while hugging his parents and Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill has gone viral on social media.
The above post can be seen here (archive)
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile investigated the picture in question and found it to be AI-generated and digitally fabricated.
A Reverse Image Search, coupled with relevant keyword searches, did not yield any credible news reports, authentic photographs, or official social media posts supporting the claim. Neither Vaibhav Sooryavanshi nor Shubman Gill has shared the image on their verified social media accounts. Furthermore, no reputable media outlet has reported any such meeting or emotional moment involving the two cricketers.
A closer examination of the picture revealed several telltale signs commonly associated with AI-generated content. These include unnatural facial features, distorted hand structures, inconsistent body proportions, irregular lighting patterns, and an overly smooth background lacking realistic depth and texture.
To further verify the image, NewsMobile analysed it using AI-detection tools, including Sightengine and Hive Moderation. Both platforms flagged the picture as AI-generated with a high probability score, indicating that the viral image is not authentic.
In conclusion, the viral picture claiming to show Vaibhav Sooryavanshi crying while hugging his parents and Shubman Gill after the Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 defeat is AI-generated and digitally fabricated.
