Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya’s Instagram story went viral following his team’s dismal performance in the IPL 2026. After losing to Rajasthan Royals in their last group stage game, the five-time winners were unable to put together a run of strong performances and finished ninth in the points table with just four victories. Due to his injuries and severe loss of form, Hardik also had a very challenging season. The situation got so terrible that there were several rumors that Hardik would be traded after the season. Fans were intrigued by the player’s recent online activities, even though neither MI nor the player said anything specific.
A laptop with a movie playing, a notebook, a pen, and his cell phone were all visible in the photo he shared on his Instagram story. Fans were drawn to the time that was shown on the phone screen, though. The time displayed ’07:07′, and connecting it to MS Dhoni via the internet took very little time.
In the realm of cricket, Dhoni and the number 7 are practically synonymous, and the Chennai Super Kings legend has been the focus of several memes that use the number throughout the years.
Hardik and the IPL teams did not respond to the image or the rumors around it, despite some fans even speculating that the message would indicate a potential transfer for the all-rounder to CSK in the future.
Kieron Pollard On Team’s Dismal Show
Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard spoke candidly about the team’s dismal IPL 2026 season earlier, but he made it obvious that Hardik’s future was still up in the air.
“Right now is not the time and place to talk about that [post mortem]. All these things will be sort of emotional decisions and thinking of every aspect of what’s needed,” he said.
“Everyone needs that time and space to go, sit down, recollect, have a fair idea and assessment as to where it went wrong for us. That’s where better decision-making is going to come about. If you sit here right now and say you need to do this, you need to do that, I think that will be irresponsible from a management perspective,” he added.
