Hardik Pandya’s Instagram account has been deleted. The Mumbai Indians captain, who is usually quite active on social media, surprised fans on Wednesday evening when his profile became unavailable.
The page showed the message: “Sorry, this page isn’t available. The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed. Go back to Instagram.”
Pandya had more than 40 million followers on the platform.
The move comes after Mumbai Indians’ disappointing exit from IPL 2026. The five-time champions had a forgettable season, winning only four out of 14 matches and finishing ninth in the points table, just above Lucknow Super Giants.
Hardik also had a tough season individually. He scored only 146 runs in eight innings and picked up just three wickets.
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer said that while he would not want Hardik to continue as Mumbai Indians captain next year, the franchise should definitely retain him and allow him to focus on his individual game.
“I will not make him the captain, but he will surely be retained. I want him to open up and get the best out of him,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
When asked who could replace Hardik as captain, Jaffer said: “At this stage, it would be hard to pick a captain.”
Mumbai Indians ended their campaign with a 30-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals in their final league match, marking their 10th loss in 14 games.
