‘This is fake’: Preity Zinta lashes out over edited image with young Rajasthan Royals star

Preity Zinta, Bollywood actor and co-owner of the Punjab Kings (PBKS), has strongly denounced a morphed image circulating online that falsely shows her hugging Rajasthan Royals’ 14-year-old player, Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The viral photo, which emerged after the recent IPL clash between PBKS and RR at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium, sparked widespread misinformation, so much so that even some news channels reportedly picked it up as authentic. Taking to her official social media handle, Zinta reposted one such report and firmly stated, Contrary to the misleading photo, the actual footage of the interaction was posted by the official Rajasthan Royals account on X (formerly Twitter). The clip, titled “Flex levels at school: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,” shows a brief and respectful encounter between Zinta and the young cricketer. In the video, Preity is first seen speaking briefly with RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal before moving on to PBKS player Shashank Singh. She then says, “Come, let’s go say hi to him,” referring to Vaibhav. What follows is a short exchange of greetings and a handshake between Zinta and the young prodigy, no hug, as the fake image suggests. The interaction is set to the song ‘Koi Mil Gaya’, adding a lighthearted tone to what was clearly a fan moment for Vaibhav.

Amid the off-field drama, PBKS gave fans a reason to cheer on the field by defeating Rajasthan Royals by 10 runs. Chasing a formidable target of 220, RR fell short, helping Punjab secure a spot in the IPL 2025 playoffs.