T20 World Cup 2026: Hardik Pandya takes BIG step against BCCI, openly defies Indian cricket board order with…, comes up with ROMANTIC gesture for…

India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup 2026: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have clearly mandated to the Indian cricket team members that wives and partners will not be allowed to accompany the squad when they are travelling or staying in Team Hotel over the course of the T20 World Cup 2026. But rules don’t seem to apply to Team India all-rounder and Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, who was seen openly defying this major order from the BCCI.

Pandya’s new girlfriend and model Mahieka Sharma was seen accompanying the star cricketer not only the chartered flight arranged by the BCCI but also regularly seen travelling by the team bus and seen in the team hotel in New Delhi as well.

WATCH Hardik Pandya accompanied by Mahieka Sharma coming out of Colombo airport HERE…

 

VIDEO | Sri Lanka: Team India arrives in Colombo ahead of the India-Pakistan clash in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled for February 15.

(Full video available on https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/WWdrsIuIYu

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 13, 2026

Hardik Pandya and Mahieka Sharma were seen coming out hand-in-hand out of the Colombo airport on Friday night ahead of Team India’s Group A match against arch-rivals Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. Hardik is the only cricketer who has his wife or partner accompanying them around various venues during the T20 World Cup 2026. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s wife Devisha Shettty, Sanju Samson’s wife Charulatha or Jasprit Bumrah’s wife Sanjana Ganesan – who is part of official broadcasters team – have not been seen travelling with the Team India cricketers.

“The Indian team management had approached the BCCI to ask whether wives and fiancées can travel with the team and whether they can also stay with them. The board has made it clear that families won’t be staying with the players. They can make separate arrangements, though, if they want to,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by Indian Express newspaper last week.

Hardik Pandya inks tatoo on neck for Mahieka Sharma

The Team India all-rounder had become only the second Indian cricketer apart from Virat Kohli to score a fifty and pick up a wicket twice in the T20 World Cup history. Hardik scored 52 and claimed 2/21 in India’s last match against Namibia at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.

Hardik came up with a romantic gesture for girlfriend Mahieka Sharma ahead of Valentine’s Day on Saturday. Created at Aliens Tattoo by celebrity tattoo artist Sunny Bhanushali and executed by lead artist Tushar Marane, the artwork tells a deeply personal story about love, identity and partnership with his girlfriend Mahieka.

What began as a simple idea – a ‘M’ initial tattooed on his nape, evolved into an elaborate symbolic design after an emotional creative process between the couple and the artists. According to the team, Pandya initially wanted a subtle tribute to Mahieka, something meaningful yet intimate. However, during conversations about their relationship and what they meant to each other, the concept naturally grew into something far more layered.

The final artwork features two leopards, designed not merely as an animal motif but as a representation of their bond.

Speaking about the process, Sunny Bhanushali, Founder of Aliens Tattoo, said, “Hardik came with the idea of an initial, but conversations revealed something much deeper. They described themselves as partners who amplify each other’s strength. The leopard became the perfect metaphor, powerful alone, unstoppable together. This tattoo is not decoration; it’s a story permanently carried. Some tattoos are requested, some are discovered, this piece was built through trust and emotion. When a tattoo reflects a real story, it stops being ink and becomes memory.”