India head coach Gautam Gambhir has approached the Delhi High Court against the misuse of his identity through AI-generated deepfakes and impersonation. The move comes after a surge in fake videos and unauthorized content using his name, face and voice online.
A civil suit filed in the Delhi High Court seeks protection of his personality rights along with damages of Rs 2.5 million and immediate removal of such content. The case points to a coordinated rise in artificial intelligence-based face-swapping, voice cloning and the commercial exploitation of his identity across platforms.
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“My identity – my name, my face, my voice – has been misused by anonymous accounts to spread misinformation and generate revenue at my expense,” Gambhir said.
“This is not a matter of personal injury; it is a matter of law, dignity and protection that every public figure deserves in the age of artificial intelligence,” he added.
Gambhir, who recently led India to the T20 World Cup 2026 title, making them the first team to defend the trophy, has been at the center of several such misleading clips. During his tenure, India also won the Champions Trophy 2025 and Asia Cup 2025, marking a successful run as head coach.
Despite these achievements, Gambhir has often faced trolling and mimicry online, which has now escalated into using AI tools to create realistic but fake videos.
According to his legal team, the volume of such content has increased sharply since the end of 2025 on Instagram, X, YouTube and Facebook.
WHAT IS THE GAMBHIR LEGAL CASE ABOUT?
The suit documents several instances of fabricated content gaining traction on the Internet.
One fake video, which falsely shows Gambhir announcing his resignation, has crossed 29 million views, while another clip misrepresenting his comments about senior cricketers has garnered more than 17 million views.
The case was filed against 16 defendants, including social media accounts, e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart, and intermediaries such as Meta, X and Google/YouTube. Government authorities were also involved to ensure the execution of any court order.
The petition cites provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957, Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, along with earlier judgments of the Delhi High Court, which recognize personality rights.
Gambhir has sought a permanent injunction to prevent any unauthorized use of his identity, including through AI, deepfakes, morphing or face swapping.
An urgent request has also been made for the immediate removal of such content and a halt to further dissemination until the matter is dealt with.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
19 March 2026 14:57 IST
