Former Indian cricketer and World Cup winner Kirti Azad has strongly rejected a photo that went viral on social media falsely claiming to show a hotel bill from India’s 1983 World Cup victory celebrations. Taking to X, the 1983 World Cup-winning star clarified that the widely circulated receipt is completely fake and even accused the makers of forging Kapil Dev’s signature on the document.The viral photo claimed to be a restaurant and grill room receipt from London’s Grosvenor Hotel on June 25, 1983, the same night India won its first Cricket World Cup title by stunning the mighty West Indies at Lord’s. The so-called bill included luxury items such as Moët champagne, a steak dinner, whisky, beer and Dunhill cigarettes, which reportedly totaled £764. To make the document appear authentic, the fake receipt also had a bold signature resembling Kapil Dev’s autograph, sparking widespread debate and nostalgia on social media platforms. However, Kirti Azad was quick to shut down the rumors and clarified that the Indian team never celebrated at the Grosvenor Hotel after the historic victory. According to the Independent, the team’s celebrations actually took place at the Westmoreland Hotel, which dismissed the viral receipt as a complete fabrication.“It’s fake. It’s all on social media. We stayed at the Westmoreland Hotel, next to Lord’s Cricket Ground, London. After the victory on June 25, 1983, celebrations continued throughout the night until the morning of June 26. We have never been to this hotel. Kapil Dev’s signature is also fake,” Azad wrote on X.The final of the 1983 Cricket World Cup took place on 25 June 1983 at Lord’s in London, where underdogs India defeated the two-time defending champions West Indies by 43 runs in a memorable upset. This historic victory broke the era of complete dominance of the West Indies and essentially shifted the world center of cricket to India.
