No, Sri Lankan Bowler Pathirana Didn't Touch MS Dhoni's Feet Before Bowling

Matheesha Pathirana didn't touch Dhoni's feet but instead bent down to pick up the bowling marker.

Fact-check: A false claim about CSK player Matheesha Pathirana touching MS Dhoni's feet before bowling is going viral on social media.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

A video is going viral to claim that Sri Lankan cricketer Matheesha Pathirana touched Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni's feet to seek blessings from him before bowling.

Pathirana has been roped in the by Chennai Super Kings for 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL).

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: A different angle of the same incident shows that Pathirana didn't touch Dhoni's feet but instead bent down to pick up the bowling marker.

How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search along with a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the video.

• This led us to a video shared on X (formerly Twitter) which showed a different angle of the same incident.

• It clearly shows Pathirana bending down to pick up the bowling marker which was placed near Dhoni's feet.

Comparison between the viral video and video from X.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

The video shows that Pathirana did not touch Dhoni's feet.

Screenshots from the video.

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

Conclusion: A false claim about CSK player Matheesha Pathirana touching MS Dhoni's feet before bowling is going viral on social media.

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