Fact Check: Did Leopard Interrupt Ranji Trophy Match in Dharamshala? Here's The Truth Behind Viral Instagram Video

The Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season is on and it will witness some of the best cricketing talents in action as they showcase and prove their mettle in red-ball cricket. This is the 91st edition of the prestigious tournament, which, over the years, has served as the pipeline of talent for the Indian cricket team. And this time, it is no different, with the players involved aiming to put on an impressive show in a bid to make it to the national cricket team. Two rounds of Ranji Trophy matches in the 2025-26 season are already done and the third round of fixtures got underway on November 1. Amidst this, an Instagram video has come to light which showed a leopard interrupting a Ranji Trophy match in Dharamshala. Fact Check: Did Virat Kohli Give Fan An Autograph on Pakistan Jersey Ahead of IND vs AUS 1st ODI 2025? Here's the Truth Behind Viral Photo.

The video on Instagram has gone viral in no time and it showed a leopard coming out onto the field while a match in the Ranji Trophy was underway. The video showed a leopard sprinting onto the field at what seemed to be the scenic HPCA (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association) stadium in Dharamshala and the sight of the big cat triggered fear and panic amongst the spectators. The players, in the viral Instagram video, watched as the leopard ran at one end of the ground and a spectator can be heard shouting in the video, asking for the stadium gates to be opened so either they or the animal could escape the place. The video was posted on November 2 and garnered more than 5000 likes and 1.4 million views. Fact Check: Did Virat Kohli Leave For London After Duck in IND vs AUS 2nd ODI 2025 to Attend Son Akaay's Parent-Teacher Meeting? Here's the Truth.

Fake Viral Video Claims Leopard Interrupted Ranji Trophy Match in Dharamshala

Here's the Truth Behind Leopard Interrupting Ranji Trophy Match Viral Instagram Video

The video above that showed a leopard sprinting onto the field at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala during a Ranji Trophy match is fake and has been generated using AI (Artificial Intelligence). There are several reasons why it can be inferred that the viral Instagram video of a leopard interrupting a Ranji Trophy match is fake and generated by AI. A leopard interrupting a Ranji Trophy match is a story of a big security lapse during India's premier red-ball competition and should have had coverage from authentic and credible outlets. But there has not been any. Interestingly, a closer look at the caption would explain why this video isn't real. Fact Check: Did David Warner Chat With Current Indian Team Captain Who Was 'Ball Boy' in IPL 2013 Opener? Here’s the Truth Behind Viral Claim.

The caption states that this happened during a Ranji Trophy match between Himachal Pradesh and Karachi, which is a city in Pakistan. Furthermore, the caption has weaved a rather hilarious story of the leopard interrupting the Ranji Trophy match, stating that it 'outscored Karachi's top-order without a bat' and that after it had retreated, the Himachal Pradesh coach asked the BCCI to have the animal as the 'new fielding coach'. Not just unrealistic but a little hilarious as well. The hashtag used is 'Sora2' which is a popular AI-video generator.

The video has been posted on an Instagram handle named 'aikalaakari' and the bio reads, 'AI Filmmaker'. The account is filled with similar AI-generated viral Instagram videos, which have garnered millions of views and this is just one of them. With AI softwares being easily accessible nowadays, it is easy for people to make such videos and spread viral claims while also misleading some at the same time.

Also, another factor that proves why this video, even if it would have been real, isn't from the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season and it is because there have been no matches in this edition of the tournament that have been played at the HPCA Stadium. There has been no Ranji Trophy match that has been played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala so far in the 2025-26 season. Himachal Pradesh, placed in Elite Group D, have had two matches so far at Puducherry and Delhi, both of those contests ending in draws.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2025 01:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).