India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is enjoying some great time off the cricket field. However, he would forget what happened to him throughout 2019. He ran through a series of injuries and hasn’t turned up to play cricket match for India for quite a long time. Since 2018, he didn’t play even a single Test and to make things worse, he failed to score runs in the ICC World Cup 2019 semi-final clash against New Zealand.
Since then, he didn’t play ODI games for India. He last played a T20I match against South Africa and that too a few months ago. His injury prevented him from playing the game and was desperately waiting for his turn to play for India after he regained full fitness. Apart from his professional life, he has been thoroughly enjoying his love life. In the recent months, he was spotted with Natasa Stankovic a few times and they were also seen hanging out with each other in Mumbai.
On the special occasion of New Year, Hardik Pandya finally disclosed his relationship status on social media. The cricketer shared a picture with Natasa where they were seen holding each other. ‘Starting the year with my firework,’ Hardik Pandya’s caption read. He also shared many pictures and videos on Instagram. In these images, both Hardik Pandya and Serbian actress Natasa Stankovic can be seen showing their engagement rings.
Hardik Pandya also shared a Hindi phrase. ‘Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged,” he wrote. [Translation: I’m yours, you’re mine. Let entire India (world) know]. Indian captain Virat Kohli congratulated Hardik Pandya on his engagement. “Congratulations H. What a pleasant surprise. Wish you guys great times ahead. God Bless,” Kohli wrote. After that, Pandya’s teammates Chahal, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav poured in with congratulatory messages.
For the unversed, Natasha is a Serbian actress who is based in Mumbai now. She first made her appearance in Prakash Jha’s 2013 film Satyagraha. She was also seen in an item song Aiyo Ji in the movie and then in Badshah’s famous number DJ Wale Babu. Natasha was also a big participant on Bigg Boss season 8. She appeared in Nach Baliye with her ex-flame Aly Gony.
However, on the dark side, Hardik Pandya was roasted badly for announcing his engagement with Natasa Stankovic. Some people on social media have not forgotten the controversy Hardik Pandya was involved in and they have been trolling him on social media.
Beat me, please beat me (I am mad after seeing it)
Time changed, emotion changed life changed all of a sudden.
Me after knowing even I got a chance.
If you got money, any miracle can happen
Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were on the receiving end in the wake of their sexist and racists remarks on a popular TV show, Koffee With Karan which was aired on January 6.
In the show, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul revealed their relationships, crushes, favourite movies, actors and actresses. Hardik Pandya got carried away in the show and went on to boast about hooking up with multiple women and also spoke about how open he is with his parents.
“When I lost my virginity, I came home and said, ‘Main karke aya hai aaj (I had sex today)’. At a party my parents asked me ‘acha tera wala (women) kaun sa hai [who is your interest here?] so I said yeh, yeh, yeh (pointing out women)’ and they were like ‘waah proud of you beta’,” Pandya boasted.
However, his comments didn’t go well with fans. After making infamous remarks on the show, Hardik Pandya took to Twitter to apologise for his comments. “After reflecting on my comments on Koffee with Karan, I would like to apologise to everyone concerned who I may have hurt in any way.
“Honestly, I got a bit carried away with the nature of the show. In no way did I mean to disrespect or hurt anyone’s sentiments. Respect,” Pandya posted on Twitter.
Nonetheless, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was not pleased with the apology and then put the two cricketers under provisional suspension. BCCI had also asked them to return home from Australia. Pandya was replaced by Vijay Shankar for Australia and New Zealand ODI series.
Things turned from bad to worse, when he received yet another setback when Gillette ended its contract with him.