In a viral video on social media, MI captain Hardik Pandya was seen refusing to shake hands with CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad after facing their seventh defeat of the season. Pandya has been tagged as an arrogant person for refusing to shake hands, which is a symbol of sportsmanship among the players.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are the oldest rivals in the history of the IPL and perhaps the biggest rivals in terms of the number of finals these two teams have played against each other and the number of IPL titles they have won.
Chennai Super Kings, despite their poor form in the IPL, have largely dominated Mumbai Indians in the last four seasons. Having met seven times since 2023, CSK have defeated Mumbai Indians six times, including two this season.
In the viral video, Hardik Pandya is seen refusing to shake hands with the CSK captain.
In a video that went viral on social media, Mumbai Indians team captain Hardik Pandya was seen refusing to shake hands with opposition captain Ruturaj Gaikwad after finishing the batsman’s chase with young Karthik Sharma.
Gaikwad played a crucial innings against Mumbai Indians at Chepauk as his team chased the target of 160 runs after losing the wicket of in-form Sanju Samson. He played a brilliant inning of 67 runs and led his team to victory by registering an easy victory by 8 wickets.
However, in the video on social media, it was seen that Gaikwad was extending his hand for a handshake and Pandya was ignoring it as Gaikwad also avoided him and reached towards Jasprit Bumrah. Pandya, who did not accept this, has been called arrogant and disrespectful for his conduct.
The reality behind the Hardik Pandya-Ruturaj Gaikwad controversy came to light
After the match, a completely different story was presented when the full match footage was released and Hardik was seen shaking hands with the CSK captain while also having a wide smile on his face.
After the viral clip was refuted on social media platforms by video clips from the official broadcasters, it was argued that the moment may not have been captured prominently in that viral clip and was misinterpreted by fans.
However, it clearly seemed to be a deliberate or doctored video against Hardik Pandya. Often such clips reflect very poorly on the character of the players as they reflect inaccurately on the players as well as the situations on the field.
Mumbai Indians on the verge of elimination; Will Hardik Pandya retain his captaincy for the remaining matches?
Mumbai Indians have already lost seven of their matches in this season of the competition. After losing so many games in the competition, Mumbai Indians are unlikely to see a turnaround this season.
The Hardik Pandya-led side now has five more matches left, and looking at the current position of the points table, mathematically they have no chance of making the playoffs this season.
Hardik Pandya doesn’t need to do much to retain his captaincy this season as his replacements in the form of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma are struggling with their respective performances and fighting for their place in the eleven.
Also Read: Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine create rare records in SRH vs KKR IPL 2026 match
