Indian star Hardik Pandya and former cricketer Irfan Pathan finally buried their old feud after the T20 World Cup 2026 final win over New Zealand in Ahmedabad. Both the players shared a special moment on the field and fans were very happy to see these two Baroda cricketers smiling together again.
Suryakumar Yadav led Team India to a huge 96-run win over New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, March 8. The Men in Blue won the ICC trophy for the third time in the shorter format. They also became the first team to successfully defend and win the title on home soil.
Hardik Pandya and Irfan Pathan warmly embrace
A video of the post-match celebration quickly went viral on social media. In the video, Hardik Pandya reached out to Irfan Pathan during the live broadcast. Hardik smiled and hugged Irfan warmly. Irfan Pathan patted him on the back and congratulated the world champion.
Watch the video posted by a user on X (formerly known as Twitter) below:
– Knight Rider (@iKnightRider19) 8 March 2026
Hardik Pandya’s important role in T20 World Cup
Hardik Pandya continued to make valuable contributions throughout the tournament. In the final he scored 18 runs on 13 balls and took one wicket for 36 runs. Overall in the T20 World Cup, the star all-rounder scored 217 runs in nine matches and also grabbed nine important wickets for his team.
The right-handed batsman played some excellent innings under pressure. He scored two half-centuries in the tournament against Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The experienced all-rounder played an unbeaten inning of 50 runs against Zimbabwe. Hardik also performed well with the ball in the semi-final against England and took two important wickets to help India reach the summit.
Why was there a fight between Hardik and Irfan Pathan earlier?
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, reports claimed that Irfan Pathan lost his job in the IPL broadcast team because a senior Indian player did not like his criticism. In an interview given to Lallantop, Irfan indirectly revealed that it was Hardik Pandya who had complained about him.
Pathan clearly expressed disappointment over the broadcasting controversy. The former cricketer felt that he was actually very kind to the player during his commentary stint. He defended his professional duty as an analyst and said that exposing flaws is a routine part of the job.
“Even if I am criticizing you in 7 out of 14 matches, I am taking a soft stance. That is our job as a broadcaster,” Irfan said.
The former all-rounder also clarified on his personal relationship with the young players from his home state. He dismissed any rumors of bitter rivalry and said that he and his brother have always supported local talent.
“There is no rivalry. All the Baroda players after me – Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya or Hardik Pandya – none of them can say that Irfan-Yusuf did not help them,” he said.
Also read: No Jasprit Bumrah! Virat Kohli bows before CSK star after India’s T20 World Cup win
