Fact Check: Did Kavya Maran Hug Praful Hinge For His Heroics On Debut Against Rajasthan Royals? Here's Truth Behind Viral VIDEO

Hyderabad, April 22: A video has surfaced on social media showing Sunrisers Hyderabad owner Kavya Maran hugging the young SRH pacer Praful Hinge after his magnificent bowling performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals. Praful Hinge created history and became the first bowler to take three wickets in first over on debut.

Viral Video

The viral video shows that Kavya Maran gifts a box of watches to Praful Hinge and then hugs him while another young bowler Sakib Hussain looks on. The video was shared on social media with the claim, "After their great debut against RR, Kavya Maran came forward to hug Praful Hinge. Saqib, standing beside him, also opened his arms thinking it was for him but the hug was for Praful. Realizing this, he felt embarrassed and quickly covered it with a shy smile."

Fake AI Video

However, the viral video seems to be an AI generated video and it can be clearly seen in it that the video is distorted using artificial intelligence. The post is full with the comments of social media users saying, "Certified AI bullshit."

The girl seen in the video also looks different from Kavya Maran. The woman is seen wearing clothes similar to Kavya, however, her face looks very different from her.

Dream Debut

Praful Hinge became the first bowler in the IPL history to take three wickets in his very first over on debut. The right-arm medium-fast bowler from Nagpur was bought by SRH for Rs 30 lakh during the IPL Auction 2026.

POTM On Debut

Hinge dismissed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and Lhuan-dre Pretorius in his first over of the match against Rajasthan Royals. He finished his spell with 4/34 in 4 overs and also received the Player of The Match award for his heroics.