'Swag ho toh Bhai jaisa': Hardik Pandya gets a new look ahead of Asia Cup, fans say 'Nicholas Pooran style'

Hardik Pandya opted for a short haircut and a sandy blonde colour to add more glitz to his look. The all-rounder who helped India win the T20 World Cup last year shared pictures of his new look on Instagram with the caption, "New me."

It's fair to say that Hardik's new look has become a huge topic of discussion on social media. The reactions are coming in thick and fast. Many users on the internet are also comparing his look to Ben Stokes and Nicholas Pooran.

Here are some of the reactions

Hardik last played for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where India won the title after beating New Zealand in the summit clash. Before that, he also played the five-match T20I series against England at home.

Also Read: Oman's Sufyan Mehmood once thought about 'dropping cricket', now excited to chat with Hardik Pandya

The all-rounder then led the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where the five-time champions reached Qualifier 2. In the knockout game, the side was defeated by Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings.

Hardik no longer the vice-captain

Once believed to be India's next T20I captain after Rohit Sharma, Hardik no longer belongs to the leadership group. Suryakumar Yadav continues to lead India, while Shubman Gill has been named as his deputy for the Asia Cup.

After the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final loss against England, Hardik led in most bilateral series, and he repeatedly referred to the squad as “his team.” However, just months before the T20 World Cup in 2024, Rohit returned as the captain in the bilateral series against Afghanistan.

Rohit was then announced as the captain for the World Cup by the then BCCI secretary Jay Shah during a programme in Rajkot. However, the all-rounder has never spoken publicly regarding what he thought of the leadership being taken away.

Hardik has played 94 ODIs, 114 T20Is and 11 Tests for India so far. In the shortest format, he has scored 1812 runs at an average of 27.87 and a strike rate of 141.67. With the ball in hand, he has scalped 94 wickets with his best figures being 4/16.

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