Hardik Pandya's Shoutout To 'Partner' Mahieka Sharma Day After Blasting Paparazzi For 'Cheap' Act

Hardik Pandya delivered an all-round performance as India registered a thumping 101-run victory over South Africa in the first T20I of the five-match series on Tuesday in Cuttack. Asked to bat first, India were struggling at 78/4 when Hardik played an unbeaten knock of 59 off 28 balls, propelling the hosts to 175/6 in 20 overs. Later, Hardik also contributed with a wicket as India bundled out the Proteas for 74, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
After the match, Hardik took a moment to credit his girlfriend, Mahieka Sharma, for his performance.
"A special mention to my partner. A lot of great things have happened; she's been nothing but the best to me ever since she came into my life," said Hardik in a video posted on BCCI.TV.
"I think I have been a very honest and real person in my life, which has helped me a lot. I don't really sugarcoat anything. It's never about the other person or how others think-it's just about how I feel from inside," he added.
Earlier, Hardik expressed his anger on social media after seeing paparazzi "cross the line" while taking pictures and videos of Mahieka Sharma. In a powerful statement, Hardik hit out at the paparazzi for what he described as disrespectful and intrusive photography of his partner.
"I understand that living in the public eye comes with attention and scrutiny-it's part of the life I've chosen. But today something happened that crossed a line," Hardik wrote in an Instagram story.
"Mahieka was simply walking down a staircase at a Bandra restaurant when paps decided to capture her from an angle that no woman deserves to be photographed from. A private moment was turned into cheap sensationalism," he stated.
Hardik recently confirmed his relationship with model and yoga trainer Mahieka. After initial speculation sparked by social media interactions and shared travel sightings, Pandya made the relationship official in October 2025-just before his 32nd birthday-by posting intimate photos and videos of the couple enjoying a private beach getaway and celebrating a puja together.