Hardik Pandya and Mahieka Sharma spotted together at airport amid IPL exit speculation

Star cricketer Hardik Pandya was seen leaving the city with his rumoured girlfriend Mahieka Sharma at Mumbai Airport on Monday, just hours after Mumbai Indians suffered a heavy 30-run defeat against Rajasthan Royals. The couple drew immediate attention as they walked hand-in-hand through the terminal, dressed in matching black tracksuits, their fingers interlaced. Their coordinated appearance at the airport followed a dismal end to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season for the five-time champions, who finished with just eight points from 14 matches and ranked second-last on the ten-team points table.

The Mumbai Indians’ poor campaign concluded with a loss to the Rajasthan Royals, a match that ended their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. Speaking to IANS after the defeat, Pandya reflected on the team’s performance and identified key areas for improvement. “We gave away 10–15 too many runs,” he said. “It was a chaseable total, but we lost too many early wickets. The wicket behaved similarly in both innings. You had to hold your shape and hit good cricketing shots to get value.” Pandya also pointed to the final five overs as a turning point in the match, highlighting the difficulty of bowling in that phase. “The last five overs are always tough. If you can stop one or two boundaries, you can keep teams 12–15 runs short. Conceding 73 runs in the last five cost us dearly,” he added.