Kohli and Dhoni have not donated money to Odisha train crash victims

Context

Days after the tragic three-train collision in Odisha’s Balasore district that killed at least 278 people and injured over 1,000 passengers, posts circulating on social media claimed that Indian cricketers MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli donated funds toward the welfare of the victims. People are claiming Dhoni contributed ₹60 crores while some say he donated his winnings from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is planning to set up a "MS Dhoni Foundation" next to the accident spot. 

Claims that Virat Kohli donated ₹30 crores are also making rounds. The caption to one such post on Facebook reads, "Virat Kohli donation 30 crore Odisha train accident... respect for (the) man." The claims have also been widely shared on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter. 

However, this is false, and there no reports of any such donations.

In Fact

We first looked into the social media handles of both cricketers. Kohli's last post on Twitter addressed the train accident. He wrote, "Saddened to hear about the tragic train accident in Odisha. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost their loved ones and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured." There is no mention of him donating funds on his Twitter or Instagram account. 

Dhoni's official account on Instagram is fairly inactive, and we could not find any donation announcement.

It is to be noted that if either of them had donated such huge amounts, media outlets would have carried the news. They have earlier reported cricketers donating to COVID-19 relief funds and other charitable causes.

Logically Facts also contacted the finance department under the Odisha government, who confirmed that they haven't received any funds from the cricketers. Officials from the department confirmed to us that there is no record or email of any such funds donated by cricketers. 

The Verdict

Indian cricketers Dhoni and Kohli have not donated any funds to the victims of the Odisha train accident. Social media posts circulating such narratives are hoaxes and incorrect. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.