Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been doing the rounds for the past few weeks. The Mumbai Indians captain has had to deal with ups and downs in a month and despite that, he has managed to keep a smile on his face even during the most difficult phase of his life.
Hardik Pandya became the hero of the Indian National Cricket Team after making vital contributions with bat and ball at the T20 World 2024. The fans’ agony to take over the leadership of Mumbai Indians from Rohit Sharma turned into love after he helped the team win the title in Barbados.
Hardik Pandya turned out to be the best of the tournament as he contributed equally well to the team with both bat and ball in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He made a huge impact by scoring 144 runs at an average of 48.00 and a strike rate of 151.57 in six innings and was even more exceptional with the ball. He picked up 11 wickets in 25 overs at an economy rate of 7.64.
But after guiding India to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup, things have not been going well for Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder, a few days after the tournament, announced his separation from wife Natasa Stankovic but stated that the couple would mutually take care of their son Agastya.
After announcing her divorce from Hardik Pandya, Natasa Stankovic also left India and returned to her hometown along with her son Agastya. When she reached her hometown, she posted a picture with her son on her Instagram account from a nature outing:
However, what caught the attention of many was that Hardik Pandya also commented on that post. The all-rounder added two comments with emojis.
Here is the post:
Hardik Pandya commented on Natasha’s Instagram post 😯#HardikPandya pic.twitter.com/ChsIalEc36
– Sagar Mhatre (@MhatreGang) July 24, 2024
Hardik Pandya was not named captain of Team India in the T20I
After the 2024 T20 World Cup, India captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20I cricket. With Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain of the team, the all-rounder was expected to captain the team in that format but that was not the case as the management appointed Suryakumar Yadav as the lead pacer.
Hardik Pandya was named captain of the team when Rohit Sharma was rested ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. And it was almost certain that he would be named as the new captain. But newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were not very keen on giving him a spot.
During the press conference, when asked about Hardik Pandya being snubbed as captain, chief selector Ajit Agarkar mentioned that Hardik Pandya’s injury history and workload management were major factors in him not getting the captaincy. He also mentioned that “feedback from the dressing room” was taken into consideration in naming Suryakumar as captain.
Hardik Pandya will now be in action during the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. He has opted to rest himself for the ODIs. The T20I series between the teams will begin on July 27.
