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Mumbai Indians (MI)’s campaign for the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 ended early. Hardik Pandya and his team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time in a span of three years. The star all-rounder has been criticized for his poor leadership qualities on and off the field. There have been reports that MI will probably sack Pandya from the captaincy.
Reportedly, Hardik Pandya may also leave the franchise after his second stint in MI to join Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2023 season. There has been no work for this all-rounder since handing over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma. Amidst all the uproar, the former Indian captain has now deactivated his Instagram account.
Hardik Pandya deleted Instagram
Hardik Pandya’s Instagram account has surprisingly disappeared after being searched in the Instagram app and Hardik’s account is not visible on the website. In place of his account, the message “Sorry, this page is unavailable” appears. No information has been given about whether the account has been deleted or deactivated. In recent times he has been facing criticism.
Hardik Pandya has now deactivated his Instagram account. What is he doing now? pic.twitter.com/ruz9vBd84n
– 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@Rushiii_12) 27 May 2026
The incident happened soon after Hardik Pandya posted a suspicious post on his Instagram account, leading to speculations. The post featured alleged girlfriend Mahika Sharma but did not include any pictures with his Mumbai Indians teammates, sparking a discussion among fans. Additionally, he posted a story showing a phone screen with the time ’07:07′, which went viral.
Will Pandya join CSK next season?
Fans are speculating it to be the iconic jersey number of MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). There have been reports that, with Pandya being included in the Yellow Army, two cricketers, Ayush Mhatre and Shivam Dubey, are joining the Blues for the upcoming season. However, these are just rumors and news and nothing has been confirmed yet.
Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, MI won only four games this season and finished 9th in the points table. They lost their 10th and final game against Rajasthan Royals last Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Since joining as a captain in 2023, he has led in 33 IPL matches, winning 14 and suffering 19 losses, resulting in a captaincy win percentage of 42.4%.
Mumbai Indians are unhappy with Pandya’s captaincy!
Mumbai Indians management is also not happy with Hardik’s captaincy. They are planning to replace him as the team has qualified for the playoffs twice in the last six years, which is a matter of concern for the five-time champions, who never finished second in the IPL. Even Jasprit Bumrah has failed to make much of an impact this season.
CSK is probably looking for Dhoni’s successor, as Ruturaj Gaikwad has struggled to lead the team since taking over the helm, while MI is facing calls for a leadership change, as speculations intensify ahead of an already active off-season. However, for CSK it is Sanju Samson who can lead the team and Pandya can play as an all-rounder for the Men in Yellow.
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