Amid speculations of a divorce from Natasa Stankovic, an old video of Hardik Pandya has surfaced on social media. In the video, which is now going viral, the cricketer is heard saying that his house and car are in his mother's name.
This comes after Natasa's Instagram post, "Someone is about to get on the streets." Speculations are that she has claimed 70% of the cricketer’s property due to the divorce.
In the short clip, Hardik says, “Mere father ke account may mummy ka naam hai, bhai ke account may bhi aur mere account may bhi… sab unke naam pay hai (My mom is added in my father’s, brother’s and my accounts)."
He further elaborated that everything, whether a car or a house, is in his mother's name.
In the original video, posted on Oaktree Sports' YouTube channel in 2017, Hardik discussed his family's financial dynamics. He also shared that he received ₹50 lakh after an IPL season and said it eased his family's economic hardships.
The shorter version of the interview with the part where the cricketer talked about his finances and his mother's role in it was shared on X (formerly Twitter) captioned: “Most of Hardik Pandya's property is in his mother's name. Gujarati Brain For a Reason".
The user who shared this post likely did so in response to the rumours of the speculated divorce settlement.
Notably, the interview was conducted three years before the cricketer married Natasa Stankovic and had a child, Agastya. Neither Hardik nor Natasa have addressed the rumours about their divorce yet.
How did the rumour of divorce arise?
Social media rumours suggest that Hardik and his wife might be separating, leading to a potential divorce. Speculations arose after Natasa removed "Pandya" from her Instagram username.
Social media users noted that the couple had not posted recent photos of each other. Pandya did not share a birthday post for his wife on March 4, either. Also, rumours circulated that Stankovic was absent from the IPL 2024 season and not seen supporting Pandya and his team.
The first group of Indian cricketers, including captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, arrived in Mumbai airport to embark on their journey to the USA for the T20 World Cup 2024, which kicks off on June 1. Alongside them were other team members, namely Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel, the support staff and head coach Rahul Dravid, as the team readies for its quest for a second T20 World Cup title.
Reports earlier indicated that both Rohit and Virat Kohli are among the first batch of players to depart for the T20 World Cup; however, Kohli was not spotted with the group. The contingent is scheduled to fly from Mumbai to Dubai before boarding a connecting flight to New York.
In addition to Kohli, another major absentee from the first batch was Hardik Pandya. It was initially believed that Hardik would be part of the first batch of players departing for the USA, especially since his team, Mumbai Indians, were eliminated from the IPL playoffs early. However, in the first batch, only three other MI players – Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah – were seen deboarding the team bus and posing for pictures.
Hardik endured a string of controversies over the past few months; after enduring a tough IPL season with Mumbai Indians, where the side finished at the bottom of the league under his captaincy, there are speculations of turmoil in Hardik's personal life.
The all-rounder is widely rumoured to have had a fall-out in relationship with his wife, Natasa Stankovic, although none of the two have officially addressed the speculation. Reports have suggested that Hardik is currently in London for a brief training stint, and is expected to link up with the national team directly from there.
Pandya's leadership and his all-round ability will be crucial as India aim to capture the prestigious T20 World Cup trophy, thus ending a 11-year wait for an ICC title.
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RR stars to depart separately
Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are scheduled to leave with the second batch of Indian players. Their departure comes on the heels of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 campaign, which concluded after Rajasthan Royals (RR) were defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 36 runs in the Qualifier 2 held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Here's India's full T20 World Cup squad:
Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.
