Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya celebrated his girlfriend Mahika Sharma’s birthday amid T20 World Cup 2026. After its video went viral, fans are raising questions about his focus and BCCI rules.
Team India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya celebrated the birthday of his girlfriend and model Mahika Sharma on February 19 amid the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. Mahika Sharma has been traveling with this all-rounder throughout the tournament so far. Hardik and Mahika have been dating since October 2025, when they made it public by arriving together at the Mumbai airport and sharing holiday pictures on social media. The couple confirmed their relationship when India’s star all-rounder shared pictures from his birthday celebration with Mahika in Maldives. Since then, the couple’s relationship has been in the headlines.
Over the past few months, Hardik Pandya has shared several Instagram posts with Mahika Sharma, including birthday celebrations, holiday pictures and intimate reels of romantic moments. The model also accompanied the all-rounder for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the T20I series against South Africa and New Zealand.
Hardik Pandya celebrated Mahika Sharma’s birthday
Amid the T20 World Cup 2026, Hardik Pandya decided to take time out from his busy schedule to celebrate his girlfriend Mahika Sharma’s 25th birthday. Hardik, 32, was accompanied by his model girlfriend to all four matches of India’s T20 World Cup 2026, including the clash against Pakistan in Colombo. In a video that went viral on social media, Hardik was seen cutting a cake with Mahika and feeding her at a hotel in Ahmedabad. It was here at the Narendra Modi Stadium that the ‘Men in Blue’ played their last group stage match against the Netherlands.
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Ahead of Mahika’s birthday, Hardik had shown his commitment towards his love and relationship by getting his girlfriend’s initials ‘M’ tattooed on the back of his neck on Valentine’s Day.
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Hardik Pandya came into controversy when he was often seen traveling with Mahika Sharma for T20 World Cup matches. BCCI has a strict rule that players cannot keep their girlfriends or wives in team hotels or restricted areas during the tournament, unless they make separate arrangements at their own expense. This has raised questions over the implementation of the rules.
‘Please don’t mix sports and romance’
The viral video of Hardik Pandya celebrating his girlfriend Mahika Sharma’s 25th birthday in Ahmedabad is catching the attention of fans on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter). Cricket fans and enthusiasts have reacted strongly to the all-rounder’s personal time during the T20 World Cup.
On their X handles, fans gave mixed reactions to Hardik’s celebration. Given the importance of this big event, many people expressed concern over mixing personal celebrations with the T20 World Cup.
At the same time, some others appreciated his happiness. He said he was “back to a good place again” after his divorce from his ex-wife Natasha Stankovic. It also reminded that public celebrations often influence perception more than reality.
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Hardik Pandya’s performance in the T20 World Cup 2026 has not been anything special. He has scored just 87 runs in four matches at an average of 21.75 and a strike rate of 155.35, which includes one half-century. With the ball, Hardik has taken five wickets in four matches at an average of 22.20 and an economy rate of 7.92.