Hardik Pandya's Instagram account back online hours after disappearing suddenly
India all-rounder and Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya's Instagram account briefly disappeared before returning online hours later. The account was restored within a few hours, although Pandya did not issue any clarification regarding the sudden disappearance.
India all-rounder and Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya left fans puzzled on Wednesday after his Instagram account briefly disappeared before reappearing hours later. Searches for Pandya's profile initially showed a "User not found" message, while the account appeared without posts or a profile picture.
Some users were also shown prompts such as "This profile is private" and "Something went wrong", triggering speculation across social media over whether the Indian star had deleted or temporarily deactivated his account. The account was eventually restored, although Pandya did not offer any explanation for the sudden disappearance.
The development comes after Mumbai Indians endured one of their worst IPL seasons. The five-time champions won only four of their 14 league matches and finished ninth in the 10-team table, ahead of only Lucknow Super Giants.
The reason behind Hardik's exit from Instagram is not known. However, the India star had faced heavy criticism on social media following Mumbai Indians' poor performances under his captaincy. Sections of fans had also commented on his personal life after reports of his engagement to Mahieka Sharma surfaced online.
Hardik remains active on other social media platforms, including X, formerly Twitter. His Facebook and Threads accounts are also active.
The all-rounder had recently sparked speculation over his future after sharing a picture on social media that fans believed hinted at a possible move to Chennai Super Kings. The "07:07" timestamp visible on his phone in the image led to widespread discussion online.
Former CSK spinner Ravichandran Ashwin further fuelled the speculation with a post on X that read: "Pathirana, 07:07 & Stokes!"
There have also been reports claiming that Hardik unfollowed Mumbai Indians and several players from the franchise on Instagram, adding to rumours of a possible exit before the next IPL season. Neither Hardik nor Mumbai Indians have commented on the reports.
Hardik struggled for form during IPL 2026, scoring 146 runs in eight innings and taking three wickets.
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer said Mumbai Indians should retain Hardik but consider appointing a different captain next season.
"I will not make him the captain, but he will surely be retained. I want him to open up and get the best out of him," Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
When asked about a possible replacement for Hardik as captain, Jaffer said: "At this stage, it would be hard to pick a captain."
Mumbai Indians ended their campaign with a 30-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in their final league match, suffering their 10th loss of the season.
HARDIK PANDYA SET TO BE REMOVED AS MI CAPTAIN?
MI's disastrous IPL 2026 campaign meant that batting coach Kieron Pollard had tough questions to answer at the post-match press conference. Asked how MI were assessing Hardik's three seasons as the MI captain, Pollard said that neither Hardik, nor MI were happy with how things had gone in the last three seasons.
“From a leadership perspective on Hardik, yes, it has not gone maybe as well as he would have wanted as an individual. It might not have gone as we would have wanted as a management staff. But one thing you know is that we have tried each and everything to give the best opportunity to lead the franchise to do well,” Pollard had said.
Pollard had added that he was himself not happy with the way things had gone down, and was 'questioning certain things' about his captaincy.
“But at the end of the day, I will question certain things. He was trying. We all were trying. And it just didn’t work out for us. So just as previously answered, again, you sit, you talk, and see what’s best. Never know what’s going to happen. For us, let’s just lick our wounds in the meantime and hopefully come back stronger in 12 months’ time,” Pollard had concluded.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
India all-rounder and Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya left fans puzzled on Wednesday after his Instagram account briefly disappeared before reappearing hours later. Searches for Pandya's profile initially showed a "User not found" message, while the account appeared without posts or a profile picture.
Some users were also shown prompts such as "This profile is private" and "Something went wrong", triggering speculation across social media over whether the Indian star had deleted or temporarily deactivated his account. The account was eventually restored, although Pandya did not offer any explanation for the sudden disappearance.
The development comes after Mumbai Indians endured one of their worst IPL seasons. The five-time champions won only four of their 14 league matches and finished ninth in the 10-team table, ahead of only Lucknow Super Giants.
The reason behind Hardik's exit from Instagram is not known. However, the India star had faced heavy criticism on social media following Mumbai Indians' poor performances under his captaincy. Sections of fans had also commented on his personal life after reports of his engagement to Mahieka Sharma surfaced online.
Hardik remains active on other social media platforms, including X, formerly Twitter. His Facebook and Threads accounts are also active.
The all-rounder had recently sparked speculation over his future after sharing a picture on social media that fans believed hinted at a possible move to Chennai Super Kings. The "07:07" timestamp visible on his phone in the image led to widespread discussion online.
Former CSK spinner Ravichandran Ashwin further fuelled the speculation with a post on X that read: "Pathirana, 07:07 & Stokes!"
There have also been reports claiming that Hardik unfollowed Mumbai Indians and several players from the franchise on Instagram, adding to rumours of a possible exit before the next IPL season. Neither Hardik nor Mumbai Indians have commented on the reports.
Hardik struggled for form during IPL 2026, scoring 146 runs in eight innings and taking three wickets.
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer said Mumbai Indians should retain Hardik but consider appointing a different captain next season.
"I will not make him the captain, but he will surely be retained. I want him to open up and get the best out of him," Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
When asked about a possible replacement for Hardik as captain, Jaffer said: "At this stage, it would be hard to pick a captain."
Mumbai Indians ended their campaign with a 30-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in their final league match, suffering their 10th loss of the season.
HARDIK PANDYA SET TO BE REMOVED AS MI CAPTAIN?
MI's disastrous IPL 2026 campaign meant that batting coach Kieron Pollard had tough questions to answer at the post-match press conference. Asked how MI were assessing Hardik's three seasons as the MI captain, Pollard said that neither Hardik, nor MI were happy with how things had gone in the last three seasons.
“From a leadership perspective on Hardik, yes, it has not gone maybe as well as he would have wanted as an individual. It might not have gone as we would have wanted as a management staff. But one thing you know is that we have tried each and everything to give the best opportunity to lead the franchise to do well,” Pollard had said.
Pollard had added that he was himself not happy with the way things had gone down, and was 'questioning certain things' about his captaincy.
“But at the end of the day, I will question certain things. He was trying. We all were trying. And it just didn’t work out for us. So just as previously answered, again, you sit, you talk, and see what’s best. Never know what’s going to happen. For us, let’s just lick our wounds in the meantime and hopefully come back stronger in 12 months’ time,” Pollard had concluded.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
