Hardik Pandya hits back: MI captain crush bowlers in viral late-night training video amid ‘rift’ & ‘injury’ claims originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Hardik Pandya fights back unfit narrative with an intense training video.
- The MI skipper has sat out with back spasms since their May 2 loss to CSK.
- Pandya hasn’t travelled with the squad to Dharmashala.
Hardik Pandya’s late-night net session sends a clear fitness message
Hardik Pandya has let his bat do the talking as he shared a video of himself going through a rigorous late-night batting session, and he looked anything but injured.
Pandya last played for Mumbai on May 2, when the side went down to Chennai Super Kings in what has been usually billed as the El Clasico of Indian cricket.
However, the training video that he shared told a different story. It was allegedly filmed at a Reliance facility, where Pandya can be seen going after the bowlers with intent, showing no signs of stiffness or discomfort.
WATCH: Hardik Pandya bats fluently in nets to counter unfit narrative
Hardik pandya practicing in the nets. He just put a stop on alll the rumours 🌚 pic.twitter.com/AjG8Fg9gW9
— Gagan Choudhary (@trigguuuu) May 12, 2026
Mahela Jayawardene urged caution with Hardik Pandya’s fitness
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene had been careful with his words following their defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He acknowledged that Pandya’s back had not yet settled and that the medical team was still managing his condition at that point.
“Hardik had a back issue which we were trying to rectify, but it hasn’t settled in yet,” he said.
“So the medical guys were working on him. He couldn’t train the last few days, so we didn’t want to take a risk without knowing exactly. So we’ll see. It’s on a day-to-day basis. See how he feels. And then we’ll make a decision on that.”
Whatever Pandya’s fitness situation, Mumbai’s IPL 2026 campaign is over in terms of playoff qualification. Their narrow last-ball defeat to RCB on Sunday confirmed the worst. They suffered eight losses in 11 matches, making them the first side officially out of the running this season.
Across 19 IPL seasons, Mumbai have reached the playoffs 11 times and missed out on eight occasions, giving them a qualification rate of 58 per cent.
MORE: ‘Very sensitive to criticism’: Sanjay Manjrekar on Virat Kohli
The Cricket News Opinion: Is Pandya no more in MI’s plans?
There has been speculation of a dressing room rift within the Mumbai Indians, and the rumours were further fuelled when Pandya allegedly unfollowed Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma on Instagram.
He has stayed back in Mumbai, and his lone training session paints a picture of a desolate leader, abandoned by his teammates.
The three remaining fixtures are dead rubbers for MI, and it remains to be seen if Jayawardene calls up Pandya. He is most likely out for the Punjab Kings’ fixture on May 14, so all eyes will be on the games against Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.
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