T20 World Cup: Where is Hardik Pandya and when will he join Indian team?

Indian cricket team vice-captain Hardik Pandya is currently holidaying at an undisclosed location abroad and will join the team in New York ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, according to a media report on Sunday (May 26).

During IPL 2024, Hardik was under fire for his captaincy and also his form for Mumbai Indians (MI). The five-time champions finished at the bottom of the table and the league concluded on Sunday with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) winning the championship.

Ahead of IPL 2024, Rohit Sharma was replaced as MI captain with Hardik, who was with Gujarat Titans (GT). This had upset MI fans and wherever the team played, Hardik was booed.

As MI’s dismal campaign in IPL 2024 ended, there have been “divorce” rumours stating that all is not well between Hardik and his wife Natasa Stankovic.

On Saturday, the Indian cricket team left for the US to play in the T20 World Cup 2024. However, Hardik was not part of the group that left India. According to a report in Cricbuzz, citing sources, the all-rounder is vacationing abroad at an undisclosed location and will join the team today (May 27) in New York.

Hardik had posted a video of him swimming and a picture, on his Instagram handle on May 23. He had captioned the post "Recharging".

After MI’s IPL campaign, team coach Mark Boucher said Hardik faced tough times during the league. “A lot of the stuff that he’s going through is, personally, maybe a little uncalled for. It'll certainly be a learning curve for Hardik as his growth in leadership. While times are tough now, a couple of things will pass and it’ll make him a tougher leader and it’ll certainly grow him in the role as well,” Boucher told a press conference on May 17.

India will play a warm-up match against Bangladesh on Saturday, June 1. The ‘Men in Blue’ will launch their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland. The blockbuster India versus Pakistan game is in New York on June 9.