DigitEye India Fact Checkers
See the image below with the message that read: “A very rare photograph. in 1884, Eden Gardens, Calcutta, narendra nath Dutta (later became Swami Vivekanana)! bowling for Calcutta Town Club.”
While many people are unaware of Vivekananda’s interest in cricket, the message has gone viral on WhatsApp.
FACT CHECK
When Digiteye Team took it up for fact check, the Google search revealed that Vivekananda did play cricket. When he played in a match for the Town Club at Eden Gardens in 1884, he claimed seven wickets.
Based on Google Reverse Image Search, the original image was traced to the one featuring Hedley Verity, an English cricketer. The image was morphed with the face of Vivekananda imposed on it to show that it was Swami Vivekananda who was bowling.
Further, a closer look at the shoes shows that it was not prevalent in 1884 but modern shoes worn by cricketers. Moreover, the wickets with bells are modern. Even the dress of the Umpire looked modern and not from the days of 1880s. The original image available on Getty Images where the caption says Yorkshire cricketer Hedley Verity bowling on 1st January 1940.
Claim: Swami Vivekananda’s image with a claim that he took seven wickets at Eden Gardens playing for Calcutta Town Club in 1884.
Conclusion: The message is true but the accompanying image has been morphed with his face replacing that of English cricketer Hedley Verity bowling on 1st January 1940 playing for Yorkshire.
Rating: Misrepresentation — 
