India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has unexpectedly found himself in a fresh storm ahead of his return to national colors against New Zealand after a scene from a newly released Netflix series triggered fresh debate around his past airport controversy.
Hardik Pandya back in headlines as Netflix series sparks old Mumbai Airport controversy
The crime thriller Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web is set at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and follows a special Customs team working to stop smuggling. The web series stars Emraan Hashmi as Customs officer Arjun Meena and focuses on high-profile interceptions at one of the world’s busiest international airports.
However, the makers of the series, Neeraj Pandey and Raghav Jairath, clearly stated that the story is completely fictional, but one scene in the fifth episode has forced one and all to look beyond the series. In that episode, customs officers stop an “IPL superstar” arriving from Rome and recover luxury items worth crores, including costly watches.
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The scene instantly reminded many viewers of the real-life Mumbai Airport episode involving Hardik Pandya back in 2021. At that time, several media reports claimed that two luxury watches worth around Rs 5 crore were seized from Hardik Pandya when he returned from Dubai after the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Hardik Pandya cleared his name over Airport watch row
However, the Indian all-rounder strongly denied those reports. He clarified that only one watch, valued at about Rs 1.5 crore, was taken by Customs purely for valuation. Pandya also stated that he had voluntarily gone to the Customs counter, declared the watch himself, and was ready to pay the required duty.
As reported by ANI, customs officials had only asked for documents to complete the valuation process, and Pandya fully cooperated throughout. He later made it clear that he was not involved in any wrongdoing and stressed that he follows the law.
Yet, the similarity between the Netflix series’ scene and Pandya’s airport episode has revived online discussions, once again putting his name in the headlines ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting on January 21 in Nagpur.
Nitish Kumar Reddy backed as Hardik Pandya’s replacement, but performances raise doubts
Recently, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate shared that Nitish Kumar Reddy is being prepared as a possible future replacement for Hardik Pandya with a long-term plan in mind, possibly for the ICC World Cup 2027, which raised the questions over the senior all-rounder’s future.
However, Nitish has struggled to deliver consistent performances whenever he has been given chances. Despite repeated opportunities, the all-rounder has failed to make a strong impact.
Even in the second ODI against New Zealand, Reddy was dismissed for 20 and bowled just 2 overs, as India lost the game by seven wickets in Rajkot.
Now, the ODI series decider will be played on January 18 in Indore, and it remains to be seen whether the youngster will get the chance against the Black Caps.
Ryan ten Doeschate stated, “With Nitish, we keep talking about developing him and getting him game time. Then, when you do get him game time, he often ends up not doing a heck of a lot in the games.”
