Tweet by Imposter Handle Viral as ‘Sachin’s Reply to Rana Ayyub’

The account being referred to as Sachin Tendulkar’s is an imposter account now operating under a new username.

(Photo: The Quint)

Screenshot of a reply purportedly by Sachin Tendulkar to a tweet by journalist Rana Ayyub is doing the rounds on social media with a claim that the cricketer took a dig at Ayyub, who in her tweet had said that Tendulkar is “not her hero.”

However, we found that the account being referred to as Sachin Tendulkar’s is an imposter account, now operating under a new username of ‘Indian Premiere League’.

CLAIM

The said screenshot shows a tweet by Ayyub in which she wrote: “Sachin Tendulkar, a man without any beliefs at all, devoid of any ethical or moral concerns towards the society and country that has so deified and venerated him. I think @sachin_rt should certainly read this. Not my Hero.”

A Twitter handle with username ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ and user id ‘@Sachin_rts’ responded saying, “Yes, I’m not your hero. Because I’m Indians’ hero.”

A screenshot of this exchange then went viral on Facebook and Twitter as, “A befitting reply by Sachin Tendulkar to Rana Ayyub”.

An archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

An archived version of the tweet can be accessed here.(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

An archived version of the post can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

An archived version of the post can be accessed here.(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

A cursory glance at the tweet brought to our notice that the user ID of the person who responded to Rana’s tweet is ‘@Sachin_rts_’ whereas, the official twitter handle of Sachin Tendulkar tweets from ‘@sachin_rt’.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

Further, while scanning the retweets on Ayyub’s tweet, we found that the imposter handle has now been renamed as ‘Indian Premier League’. 

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

Clearly, screenshot of a reply by an imposter handle to Rana Ayyub’s tweet, is being shared on social media as “befitting reply” by Sachin Tendulkar.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)