Hardik Pandya came under fire on Wednesday after fans accused the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain of disrespecting a minute’s silence observed in honour of victims of attack in Kashmir.
The moment occurred prior to the IPL 2025 clash between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Both teams paused to observe a minute of silence following the deaths of 26 tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, in an attack on Tuesday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had issued directives to honour the victims before all scheduled matches.
However, footage and social media posts alleged that Pandya was seen moving, laughing, and speaking during the tribute, prompting widespread criticism.
Many users took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise Pandya’s attitude, with many blasting him for his non-serious conduct during the minute’s silence.
amazing player but shitty human being
— SJ ♡ (@uselexical) April 23, 2025
This is the reality of this Nation, fellow country men dead but most of the country is watching and enjoying IpL and paisa bana rahe hai.
— Pjs (@pjs432) April 23, 2025
And these types of players are called national heroes 🤮 this guy literally left 2023 WC halfway and exactly came back for the first match of ipl
— Boom45 (@Srinath17592) April 23, 2025
Despite the backlash, Pandya had earlier addressed the attack, expressing sympathy before the toss.
“I would like to pass on the message and condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the terrorist attack. Our team strongly condemns these acts,” he said.
As of now, neither MI nor the BCCI has issued a statement in response to the online criticism surrounding Pandya’s conduct during the pre-match observance.
Mumbai Indians went on to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wickets.
