An image showing Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya dressed in traditional attire has gone viral on social media. In the image, Pandya is seen at a temple with a pooja ka thaal placed over his head, a saffron shawl around his neck and a tilak on his forehead. Many users claim that the cricketer visited a Mahadev temple after being selected for the T20 World Cup 2026 tournament.
The above post can be seen here. (Archive)
NM VERIFIED
NewsMobile verified the claim and found that the post is Misleading.
Conducting a keyword search to find any credible media reports about Pandya’s visit to a temple following his selection for the T20 World Cup 2026, the NM team found no such coverage. Had the claim been true, it would have attracted widespread attention from mainstream media. Hardik Pandya’s official social media handles have also not carried this particular picture.
However, running the viral visual through Reverse Image Search, NewsMobile traced it to a video uploaded on the Moneycontrol YouTube channel. In the video, Hardik Pandya is seen wearing the same attire as in the viral image. The video was uploaded on April 5, 2024, when Pandya visited Somnath temple.
We also found a media report carrying the same viral image in The Times of India, dated April 5, 2024. The headline reads: “Hardik Pandya performs puja at Somnath Temple amid Mumbai Indians’ captaincy turmoil.”
This confirms that the image is over a year old and has no connection with the recent T20 World Cup 2026 selection. So, in conclusion, we can say that the viral image is Misleading.
