IPL 2026: More than cricket of Pandya brothers, now their mutual relationship is in discussion!

Delhi: Just a few hours ago, Krunal Pandya gave such an answer to a question that it seemed that the discussions or rather speculations that were going on in the social media for the last few days on the rift in the relationship between him and Hardik Pandya, are all useless. Both brothers Krunal and Hardik Pandya are the only pair of brothers playing in IPL 2026, just the teams are different. Both of them came together in IPL and played for Mumbai Indians. Now Krunal is in the defending champion Royal Challengers Bangalore team and Hardik is the captain of 5-time IPL winner Mumbai Indians. Both of them have grown in stature as players and both also played for Team India. Hardik is one of the star cricketers of India at present and one of the most valuable cricketers in the endorsement market.

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For the last few days, the names of these two were being discussed together on social media not for any cricket issue but on speculations of mutual rift. Neither of them said anything themselves, but there were some indications that all was not well. In such a situation, the answers given by Krunal during the rapid-fire round of a program made it seem that what was being thought was wrong. When Krunal was asked a series of questions like best batsman, best captain and so on and best finisher, the answer was: Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya. On this answer it was accepted that if he had any differences with Hardik then why would he take his name?

What is more important than this answer of Krunal Pandya is that why did it seem that there is some rift between Hardik and him? Experts started saying that blood is thicker than water and Krunal Pandya’s answer should put an end to the rumors of rift between him and Hardik Pandya. Just a few hours before this, an IPL match was played between Mumbai Indians and RCB at Wankhede Stadium. Before this, whenever in any season, both the teams played matches with each other, they used to meet each other with great warmth but this time neither the same zeal nor enthusiasm was shown and they looked isolated. This just gave rise to more speculations. Although there is a saying that smoke is visible only when there is fire, but there was no concrete issue to assume that all was not well between the two.

Everyone started picking up on small things. As Hardik came to bat, Krunal threw a bouncer at him, at which Hardik looked a little surprised. Similarly, when Jacob Duffy and Romario Shepherd together dismissed Hardik, Krunal was very happy. Hardik looked surprised at this also. After the match, both of them did not shake hands with each other. That is why the answer given in Krunal’s program was given great importance. Generally, these two would often interact with each other whenever they got a chance even between matches.

Going back to all this, when India won the T20 World Cup, Hardik Pandya played a special role in it, everyone praised him but neither Krunal Pandya nor sister-in-law Pankhuri Sharma gave any statement in praise. Hardik also did not wish Krunal on his birthday on social media. Even after Hardik’s divorce from Natasha, Krunal and his wife were seen with Natasha.

Due to all this, talk of mutual rift started arising. The pair, once known for their close relationship on and off the field, has now come under online speculation. Then it was also noted that Krunal and Pankhuri were not in the stadium for any of India’s matches during the World Cup matches. On the other hand, along with all this, Hardik’s entire focus was on model and actress Mahika Sharma. They became ‘Team Natasha’ and ‘Team Mahika’ on social media.

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Although stagnation in mutual relations between brothers over time is not a unique phenomenon, but the matter of these two brothers is different. Both of them traveled a better cricket journey together amidst family difficulties, supported each other fully and also looked like ‘one family’. So now if they are different then it is seen as an issue. Krunal’s statement is by no means the end of the story but it is better to keep it a family issue and not bring it into the limelight of cricket. Both of them should not let this issue affect their cricket. If both are playing together, they will often face each other.