Hardik Pandya during the Indian cricket team practice session© X (formerly Twitter)
Indian cricket team all-rounder Hardik Pandya found himself in the news recently with multiple rumours about a divorce with his wife Natasa Stankovic. Speculations intensified as Hardik was not among the first batch of Indian cricket team stars who flew to New York ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 and some reports claimed that he was holidaying at an undisclosed overseas location. While both Hardik and Natasa have not said anything about the divorce rumours, the all-rounder took to social media to provide a big update. Hardik shared pictures from the Indian cricket team practice to show that he has joined the team ahead of the tournament along with the caption – “On national duty”.
Hardik had a disappointing IPL 2024 season – both as a player and captain. The all-rounder was appointed Mumbai Indians captain ahead of the season and it ended the ten-year tenure of Rohit Sharma – a decision which was not received well by a part of the fanbase.
On national duty 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/pDji7UkUSm
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) May 29, 2024
Things got worse as MI won just 4 matches in the competition and finished last. Hardik faced a lot of criticism from both fans and experts with a section of the crowd even booing him.
“A lot of the stuff that he’s going through is, personally, maybe a little uncalled for. It’ll certainly be a learning curve for Hardik as his growth in leadership. While times are tough now, a couple of things will pass and it’ll make him a tougher leader and it’ll certainly grow him in the role as well,” Mumbai Indians coach Mark Boucher said in a press conference after MI played their last game on May 17.
There were also some questions over his selection for the T20 World Cup but the team management showed their trust in Hardik by appointing him the vice-captain.
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