A video, showing Kavya Maran, co-owner and CEO of the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), is viral on social media, where she is seen breaking down in tears, followed by clapping. According to social media users, Maran was reportedly crying after SRH lost the crucial eliminator clash against the Rajasthan Royals on May 27, which resulted in their exit from the tournament.
Posting the clip, several users pointed out that Kavya Maran’s team, Sunrisers Leeds, from the UK’s The Hundred cricket league, had signed Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed in March this year — a move that had sparked controversy and drawn criticism from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, among others. It is to be noted that the IPL had not featured any Pakistani cricketer since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, until Ahmed’s inclusion in the Sun Group-owned franchise.
X user (@smitadeshmukh) posted the clip on May 28, writing that she “felt for the team”, but could not discount the fact that its owner had bought a Pakistani cricketer who had insulted the Indian armed forces. Since then, the post has gathered more than 82,000 views. (Archive)
I feel for the team, but can’t forget the owner who kept on pitching for a Pak player, who has insulted our armed forces, for her Hundred franchise. Cry as much, but glad to see her out.
Go to UK for Hundred. 😡 pic.twitter.com/i6sNxvHPDb— Smita Deshmukh🇮🇳 (@smitadeshmukh) May 28, 2026
Several X users, like (@Mamtasulaniya), (@drona_17), (@varunavi17), (@Santosh13298329) and others also circulated the viral clip, claiming that it was shot after SRH suffered their exit from this year’s edition of the IPL. Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4
“Maha Sports”, a Marathi sports news outlet, also posted the viral clip on Facebook and Instagram, where it has seen significant traction. At the time os writing this article, the post had gathered around 8 lakh views on Facebook, and close to 9 lakh views on Instagram.
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Fact Check
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we broke down the video into multiple keyframes. A reverse image search on the viral keyframe led us to this article, by the Hindustan Times, published on May 27, 2024.
The report reads that Kavya Maran had broken down into tears following her team’s loss in the final match, against the Kolkata Knight Riders, on May 26, 2024, at Chennai. She was also spotted applauding the rival team, congratulating them on their second title win.
We also found reports from other news outlets, like India Today, Times of India, News18, Live Mint, and others, which corroborated our findings.
Thereafter, we checked to ensure that the jersey Kavya Maran dons in the viral clip was the official IPL jersey of the SRH in the year 2024.
We also found a video posted by Sunrisers Hyderabad on their YouTube channel, which showed Kavya Maran consoling the team in the dressing room moments after their loss in the final match in 2024. The jersey is the same as the one she wears in the viral clip.
We also checked out SRH’s official jersey from this year’s IPL, and found that it was different.
The official Instagram handle of SRH had posted the post-match scenes from the crucial Eliminator clash, which also featured Kavya Maran, wearing a jersey different from the one seen in the viral video.
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In conclusion, the viral clip, which shows Kavya Maran breaking down into tears, was taken shortly after SRH had lost in the final to the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024. It is not from this year’s IPL, as the viral claims suggest.
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