Hardik Pandya Instagram row deepens; Mumbai Indians captain accused of disrespecting franchise, delivering ‘low blow’

Nonetheless, the development has reached English shores, with Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook taking note. In a recent episode of the Stick to Cricket podcast, the two former captains discussed the Pandya Instagram ‘drama’, as the YouTube title suggested, calling it absolute disrespect towards the franchise.

Also Read: Hardik Pandya better off without Mumbai Indians; Lucknow, Delhi, Kolkata ready to welcome him with open arms

“That’s a big diss in the modern world, isn’t it?” said Cook on reports of Hardik unfollowing MI, to which Vaughan added, “That’s a low blow”. Cook wondered whether Hardik’s injury was legit, and in response, Vaughan said, “he was injured, but they lost to RCB off the last ball”.

“He went to Gujarat and won it. Mumbai brought him but they’ve had an absolute stinker. I reckon, with that team and that group of players, I think it’s the worst performance by a team in any tournament. Name me a worse performance by a group that talented. They’ve got Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah,” added Vaughan.

This is the fourth time in the last six years that MI have failed to reach the IPL Playoffs. They made it to the top four in 2023 and 2025 while finishing with the wooden spoon in 2022 and 2024. They are currently second from bottom and, with three games left, risk ending last yet again.

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