Morphed Photo Shared As Swami Vivekananda Bowling At Eden Gardens

A morphed image showing philosopher and Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda bowling in a cricket match is viral on social media with a claim that the photo was taken in 1884 at Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata.

The claims further state that Narendranath Dutta, better known as Swami Vivekananda, who represented the Town Club of Calcutta took seven wickets in the said match.

BOOM found that the viral image is morphed and the original picture is of an English bowler Hedley Verity in action.

The caption with the photo reads, "It was sometime in the mid 1880s. Eden Gardens was around 20 years old and hosting a match between Calcutta Cricket Club (CCC), the then occupants of the ground, and Town Club. Representing the latter, one Narendranath Datta took seven wickets. He did not pursue cricket, but went on to become a global figure known by another name: Swami Vivekananda."

The image is viral on Facebook and Twitter. Shishir Hattangadi, former Mumbai cricketer, also tweeted the image with the same caption.

Click here to see an archive of the post.

The photo is viral with a Bengali caption stating the image as "rare" one from the archives.

Click here to view the post.

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Fact Check

BOOM did a reverse image search to find out details about the viral photo and found the original picture on Getty Images' website with a caption, "Yorkshire cricketer Hedley Verity (1905 - 1943) in action, circa 1940. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)."

The photo can be seen below.

Here is a comparison between the viral photo and the original photo of cricketer Hedley Verity.

We also found the original photo on an ESPN cricinfo article published on April 9, 2013. The article spoke about the journey of "one of England's greatest slow bowlers" Hedley Verity.

An excerpt from the article reads, "Verity played his last game on British soil in Northern Ireland in September 1941. Soon after, the battalion was posted to Ranchi in India and then to Persia and Syria, before finally arriving in Egypt in March 1943. By this time, the war in North Africa was almost over. Alamein had been won, Rommel chased back into Tunisia and an Anglo-US force had landed in north-west Africa. Soon the Allies would be masters of the North African shores, and then they would turn to Sicily. It was the obvious next step and a move that was hoped would hasten Italy's exit from the war."

According to The New Indian Express article published on May 4, 2019 Swami Vivekananda was a member of Town Club and an ardent participant in physical activities. The caption of the image has been taken from the article, "It was sometime in the mid 1880s. Eden Gardens was around 20 years old and hosting a match between Calcutta Cricket Club (CCC), the then occupants of the ground, and Town Club. Representing the latter, one Narendranath Datta took seven wickets. He did not pursue cricket, but went on to become a global figure known by another name: Swami Vivekananda." According to the article, "While not much more is known about the multifaceted monk's dalliance with bat and ball, it is documented that he was a member of Town Club and an ardent participant in physical activities. He played football and encouraged friends to exercise."

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