3 Major Controversies Involving Hardik Pandya

Indian cricket star Hardik Pandya is celebrating his 31st birthday on Friday. Ever since his debut in 2016, Baroda based star has been an integral part of team India. Hardik Pandya has been one of the key members of the team in the white-ball form. India’s T20 World Cup win in 2024 saw Hardik play a key role especially in the finals. 

The 31-year-old has proven to be very good captain after his title winning feats with Gujarat Titans during IPL 2022. It was a huge moment in Pandya’s career as he had led a newly formed team to the title win just months after being released by Mumbai Indians. 

While Hardik Pandya has been a tireless servant for Indian cricket on the field, there have been moments where he has found himself in controversy. The 31-year-old has faced criticism from fans for his behavior which has left bad taste in people’s mouth. 

Also read: WATCH: Throwback to Paul Heyman's direct challenge to Hardik Pandya over his reference to Brock Lesnar

Here are the top 3 massive controversies involving Hardik Pandya 

3- Replacing Rohit Sharma as captain ahead of IPL 2024

Hardik Pandya came back to Mumbai Indians after spending two successful seasons with Gujarat Titans. The return back to blue and fold colors was controversial for Hardik not only off the field but also on the field. Mumbai decided to give Pandya the captaincy of the team and replaced Rohit Sharma from the helm of affairs. This proved to be a massive PR disaster as fans not only in Mumbai but also across the nation were shocked. Hardik Pandya was booed by fans as chants supporting Rohit Sharma were audible. Even on the field, Mumbai Indians had a disastrous IPL 2024 season that saw them finish 10th in the table with 8 points. 

2- Public arguments with fellow players

During the IPL 2022 season, Hardik could be seen having a go at pacer Mohammed Shami. That incident didn’t go down well with India’s veteran bowler or many of cricket fans in India. During his appearance on the Shubhankar Mishra podcast, Shami said “We've known each other for almost 10 years. He told me, 'I swear, I don't know what I've said.' Crores of people watch us on screen, we need to control our emotions”

Hardik Pandya abusing Rohit???

"mere time mere pe dekho, maa chud@@ne gya vo"
🤣🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/c0x3P0EL5a

— Gaurav (@Melbourne__82) July 10, 2022

Hardik Pandya has been heard abusing teammates on stump mic which has been heard many times. During the tour of England in 2022, during one of the T20I matches, Pandya could be heard saying “mere time mere pe dekho, (expletive )gaya who kya bol raha hai”. On yet another occasion during a game against Sri Lanka in 2023, Indian star could be heard telling “paani maanga tha last over (expletive) ho udhar”

1- Disparaging remarks towards women during TV show 

Koffee with Karan is a famous show hosted by leading Bollywood director Karan Johar. In 2019, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya were the two guests on the show that stirred a lot of controversy. Indian all-rounder in particular was unhinged and there was a controversy. His comments especially towards women got Rahul and himself in trouble. 

During the show Pandya had said “When I lost my virginity, I came home and said, 'Main karke aya hai aaj. At a party my parents asked me 'acha tera wala kaunsa hai’  so I said yeh, yeh, yeh and they said like 'waah proud of you beta”. One of his comments was also racist in nature. BCCI promptly suspended the duo for a while with apology coming from both Pandya and Rahul later. Former cricketers slammed both stars especially Pandya for his distasteful comments made during the show.