Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya’s name has been constantly surfacing on the internet for various reasons.
He is currently one of the best all-rounders in the world in white-ball cricket. However, his cricketing prowess is not the only reason for his social media popularity.
This cricketer-turned-celebrity has managed to retain all eyes on him in terms of his professional success and personal life controversies.
Pandya has a vibrant personality and his chiselled looks are no less than a service to his female fandom.
Is Hardik Pandya Dating Ishita Raj?
Recently, Hardik Pandya was linked with the Pyaar Ka Punchnama fame Ishita Raj as she was seen gushing over him in a casual conversation with media company Filmigyan.
Bollywood actress Ishita caught attention due to her admiration for the player. She expressed her love for cricket and her fondness for Hardik.
When questioned about her opinions on the player, Ishita called him an all-rounder.
With her cheeks blushing ear to ear, she said “I watch cricket and I love to watch him bat. I love him. He’s just great. When he’s on the field and India is struggling, we don’t need to worry because we have Hardik there. He’s gonna ball them out, he’s gonna beat them out”
Ishita went on to admit that she has a crush on the cricketer.
When asked about her encounters with Hardik’s recently divorced ex-wife Natasa Stankovic, Ishita gave seemingly cold and uncomfortable replies.
Is this the start of a new actor-cricketer romance? Or is this just another Pandya fangirl moment?
Is Ishita Raj Hardik’s new love interest? Well, only time will tell!
However, this is not the only Bollywood actress or celebrity who has been linked with the notorious cricketer.
To get the full context on Hardik Pandya’s dating life, here’s a quick throwback.
The Dating History of Hardik Pandya, The Ladies’ Man
Hardik first caught the entertainment media’s attention when he made his debut on the much-talked-about celebrity show Koffee with Karan in 2019.
The player talked about his dating life with host Karan Johar and got in trouble for some over-the-top remarks.
The BCCI suspended K.L. Rahuk and Hardik Pandya for mentioning their hookup experiences with sexist undertones on the show. This controversy soon became a laughing matter but impacted K.L. Rahul deeply.
Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic
Hardik Pandya got married to Serbian dancer, model and actress Natasa Stankovic in 2020.
They gave birth to their adorable son Agastya Pandey that same year.
Hardik and Natasa had met through a common friend two years before their marriage. Their wedding ceremony was an intimate one owing to COVID-19 guidelines.
To make up for this, the actor-cricketer couple renewed their vows in a grand Indian-Serbian style ceremony in Udaipur, in 2023.
However, these renewed vows did not last long. Speculations started arising when Natasa dropped ‘Pandya’ from her Instagram handle and deleted her Instagram posts that featured her husband.
These rumours were fanned by social media trolls. Finally, the couple who had been married for four years, confirmed their divorce on 18 July 2024.
After their separation, Natasa was heavily attacked on social media for having a close friendship with Siberian model and fitness trainer, Aleksander Alex Llic.
She was accused of cheating on Hardik and was called a gold-digger and a multitude of other misogynistic names.
However, Natasa’s social media activity and her likes on posts relating to cheating and emotional abuse have led to conjecture about the reason for their separation.
Hardik Pandya and Jasmin Walia
Nearly a month later since the divorce, Hardik Pandya has already been linked with multiple women. The player was seen vacationing with British singer Jasmin Walia in Greece.
While the two were not seen or tagged together in any picture, the internet did its work and fans noticed that both had shared similar pictures of them from the same location.
Jasmine was seen aesthetically posing for a picture in a blue bikini on 9th July.
A couple of days later, on 12th July, Hardik Pandya posted a video of him with the same backdrop of a resort swimming pool and the Greek landscape.
This was enough evidence for speculations of a probable affair between the two.
Fans got to work and found a picture of Jasmin Walia at an IPL match posing with a Mumbai Indians flag, the same franchise that Hardik plays for.
They also dug up all of Jasmin’s Instagram posts liked by Pandya.
Trolls are now questioning and apologising for their baseless criticism and deplorable comments on Pandya’s ex-wife, Natasa.
Hardik Pandya and Ananya Pandey
The story does not end here. In the same month, Hardik again made the news for his alleged romance with upcoming actress Ananya Pandey.
Ananya too had just broken up with actor Aditya Roy Kapoor.
The two seemingly heartbroken individuals were seen closely dancing together at the infamous and extravagant wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.
Their dance video went viral and fans shipped the pair for dancing freely with each other like no one was watching.
The two started following each other on Instagram after this much-talked-about episode.
Hardik Pandya: Cricketer Turned Celebrity
These instances have painted a notorious and complicated picture of Hardik in the eyes of his fans.
When Hardik’s father Himanshu Pandya was asked to comment about this sudden influx of female admiration for his son, he replied,
“I’m not aware of why my son is getting female attention. Maybe it’s due to his playing style and role in Indian cricket. But we don’t have any issue, let him enjoy his life.”
As a result of recent events, some call Hardik Pandya the ladies’ man while some accuse him of being a misogynistic womaniser.
Hardik loves all the attention and ensures his fans that his flamboyant personality and link-ups will not affect his game negatively.
Virat Kohli came to Hardik’s rescue and said that whatever the cricketer does outside the field is nobody’s business and people should only focus on his game.
“He has his journey and he is finding his way” Virat had said.
This goes on to prove that in India, cricketers are more than just athletes. They are sports stars and their fandom clearly surpasses the popularity and enigma of so many Bollywood celebrities.
For more news related to cricketers and celebrities read 5 Famous Indian Cricketers with Bollywood Love Connection.
