Every year without fail, the IPL captains’ photoshoot drops and fans spend about five minutes appreciating it before spending the next five hours dissecting who is standing where and what it means.
This year is no different, except the theory doing the rounds right now is so eerily consistent that it has gone from a fun fan observation to something that genuinely makes you stop and think.
Hardik Pandya is at the center of it all, not for anything he has done on the field, but for where he stands in a photograph. And based on what has happened the last three years running, the 2026 IPL title race may have already been decided by a camera crew and a seating arrangement.
IPL 2026: The Hardik Pandya pattern that nobody can explain
It began in 2023 and nobody really noticed it at the time. Then 2024 happened and a few people raised an eyebrow. By the time 2025 came around and the same thing occurred again, the internet had completely lost its mind.
Three years in a row, without exception, the captain standing directly next to Hardik Pandya in the official IPL captains’ photoshoot has gone on to lift the trophy at the end of the season. MS Dhoni stood to Hardik’s left in 2023 and CSK won the title.
Shreyas Iyer stood to his right in 2024 and KKR went on to win their third championship. Rajat Patidar stood next to him in 2025 and led RCB to their first ever IPL title, one of the most emotional moments the tournament has ever produced.
Three different captains, three different teams, three consecutive years, all won simply by occupying the space next to Hardik Pandya in a photoshoot.
The cruel irony of course is that Hardik himself has absolutely nothing to show for any of it, with Mumbai Indians finishing a miserable tenth in 2024 and only scraping through to Qualifier 2 in 2025. He has somehow become the most reliable kingmaker in IPL history without ever being the king himself, and the fans have absolutely not let him forget it.
HARDIK PANDYA SAGA 🏆
2023 – MS Dhoni was standing on the left side of Hardik and CSK won the Trophy.
2024 – Shreyas Iyer was on the right side of Hardik and KKR won the Trophy.
2025- Rajat Patidar was on the right side of Hardik and RCB won the Trophy.
2026 – Ajinkya Rahane and… pi.wte.oh/HvDyl— adi. (@Hurricanerana_27) Mrh2,22
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