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Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook poked fun at the alleged rift between Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians (MI) amid the ongoing Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026).
Hardik Pandya has recently sparked the massive drama by reportedly unfollowing the Mumbai Indians and then following back following the team’s painful last-ball defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their previous IPL 2026 clash in Raipur.
Hardik Pandya’s alleged Instagram unfollow and injury spark massive buzz in IPL 2026
There is still no proper proof or screenshot available, but the rumors became a huge talking point among cricket fans. The timing of all this has only added more fuel to the discussion because Mumbai Indians are already going through a terrible IPL season.
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The five-time champions have struggled badly this year and are officially out of the IPL 2026 playoff race after another disappointing campaign. At the same time, Hardik has also missed the last three matches for the Mumbai Indians this season.
It is being said that Hardik was dealing with back spasms, but the skipper’s late-night video of himself training in the nets left everyone wondering about his fitness status.
In the video, the Indian all-rounder looked completely comfortable while batting and moving around freely. Since the clip was uploaded around 1:30 in the night, social media users immediately started wondering whether there was something more happening behind the scenes.
Now even Michael Vaughan and Alastair could not help but react to the Hardik Pandya-MI drama on the Stick to Cricket podcast. Both were surprised by the rumors and spoke about how social media actions are now seen very seriously in modern cricket.
Cook commented on the reports of Hardik Pandya unfollowing MI: “That’s a big diss in the modern world, isn’t it?” To which Vaughan responded by saying, “That’s a low blow.”
Read Also: BCCI left ‘uncomfortable’ by IPL stars roaming with girlfriends amid 2026 season
Cook also questioned whether Hardik’s injury was true, but Vaughan said, “He was injured, but they lost to RCB off the last ball.”
Other former cricketers Phil Tufnell and David Lloyd, who were also part of the discussion, made fun of the entire row, forcing Vaughan to say, “That’s the ultimate disrespect.”
Vaughan slams MI’s disastrous IPL 2026 campaign
Vaughan was also shocked by the Mumbai Indians’ poor performances this season despite having a star-studded squad. He pointed out that players like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah are all part of the team, yet MI have failed badly once again.
The former England captain added, “He went to Gujarat and won it. Mumbai brought him, but they’ve had an absolute stinker. I reckon, with that team and that group of players, it’s the worst performance by a team in any tournament. Name me a worse performance by a group that talented. They’ve got Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah.”
Notably, the MI team has been struggling badly with consistency since the 2020 season. They finished at the bottom in 2022 and 2024, managed playoff qualification only in 2023 and 2025, and now IPL 2026 has become another forgettable season with only three wins from 11 matches so far.
