Hardik Pandya’s stepbrother Vaibhav Pandya’s custody has been extended till the 19th of April. As per the reports in the PTI, it is learned that the latter’s lawyer Niranjan Mundargi didn’t oppose the EOW plea and hence the court extended his custody. 

Vaibhav Pandya was accused of cheating Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya for INR 4.3 crore through a joint business venture. The two Indian cricketers then filed an official complaint against their stepbrother, who was arrested by the police. 

Vaibhav Pandya was arrested by Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on the charges of criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, forgery, and other relevant sections and was presented in front of additional chief metropolitan magistrate (Esplanade court) L S Padhen. 

Since Vaibhav’s lawyer Niranjan Mundargi didn’t oppose the EOW plea, the Wing requested the court to extend his custody for further investigation. Earlier, the stepbrother of Hardik Pandya claimed that it was a family matter and the two players have filed the case due to the misunderstanding. 

Hardik Pandya along with Krunal and Vaibhav invested in a partnership-based firm in Mumbai and started a polymer business in 2021. As per the reports, two cricketers invested 40 percent each while Vaibhav invested 20%. Vaibhav, who was supposed to handle the daily operations of the business, set up another business and violated the agreement. 

The reports also claimed that Vaibhav Pandya also increased his own profit by 20 to 33 percent and caused losses to Hardik Pandya and Krunal. Apart from this, he also diverted funds from the partnership account to his own, which is around Rs 1 crore. 

I don’t know if it will affect his confidence – Kieron Pollard on Hardik Pandya receiving boos from fans 

Hardik Pandya hasn’t been getting the best treatment from fans in the ongoing IPL 2024. The all-rounder hasn’t been treated well after he took over the captaincy of Mumbai Indians from Rohit Sharma, who guided the team to five titles in the league. Apart from this he also has been failing to deliver goods with bat and ball. 

Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard is not sure if boos from the fans will affect Hardik Pandya’s confidence or not. He believes that all-rounder the their skipper possess great skills and he will enjoy watching everyone sing his praises. Speaking about the same, he elaborated: 

“I don’t know if it will affect his confidence. He is a confident guy, he has been great around the group In cricket, you have good days and bad days and I am seeing an individual who is working bloody hard to improve his skills and plying his trade. I am sick and fed up looking to pinpoint individuals; cricket is a team game at the end of the day. This is an individual that is going to represent the country in less than six weeks’ time, and you all are going to cheer him and want him to do well when the time comes. 

“So high time we try to encourage and stop nitpicking and see if we can get the best out of one of the great allrounders India has produced. He can bat, bowl and field, and has a X-factor about him. I hope very well deep down within my heart that when he comes out on top, I’ll sit back and watch everyone sing his praises,” he concluded.