Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya appears to have confirmed his relationship with model and actress Mahieka Sharma, ahead of his 32nd birthday on October 11. The confirmation comes after the pair were photographed together at Mumbai airport on Friday, October 10.
Pandya shared a series of Instagram stories featuring the 24-year-old Sharma, offering fans a glimpse into his birthday getaway. In one story, Pandya is seen with Sharma on a beach, overlooking a turquoise sea. Pandya has his arm around Sharma's shoulder in the photo. He is wearing a printed black jacket and patterned shorts, while Sharma is wearing a white shirt. Pandya captioned the post with an evil eye emoji. Another story is a black-and-white photograph from the same trip.
Sharma has also shared photos on her Instagram, including one where she is relaxing in a bathtub. While the "birthday bathtub" wasn't explicitly mentioned, her posts, coupled with Pandya's stories, strongly suggest a romantic birthday celebration.
Fans have reacted positively to the images, already referring to Sharma as "Bhabhi No. 2". This public display follows rumors linking the two for about a month, with fans noticing connections between their Instagram accounts, such as Sharma wearing Pandya's leopard print robe and sporting his jersey number "33" on her finger.
Sharma is a model who has won Model of the Year Awards at the Indian Fashion Awards. She has modeled for top Indian designers, including Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Anita Dongre, Ritu Kumar and Amit Aggarwal. She is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and has trained as an advanced yoga instructor.
Pandya also shared photos with his son Agastya, his mother, and his grandmother, along with a glimpse of a birthday cake.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wished Pandya a happy birthday on social media, highlighting his cricketing achievements, including 296 international runs and 206 wickets in 225 matches, as well as his ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 wins.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has been appointed as India's new ODI captain for the upcoming series against Australia, beginning October 19. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will return to the squad as batters, while Pandya remains sidelined due to injury.
