Hardik Pandya to CSK? Ravi Ashwin’s post ignites speculations:Ex-cricketer shares Chennai dream team featuring Ben Stokes, Matheesha Pathirana

Will Hardik Pandya join the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the next IPL? Speculations have run rife on social media with the all-rounder having had a disastrous campaign for the Mumbai Indians (MI). There have been rumours throwing uncertainty about Hardik’s future at MI and Ravichandran Ashwin’s cryptic post added fuel to the fire. Hardik had returned to the Mumbai Indians in a blockbuster trade from the Gujarat Titans (GT) in 2023 and was subsequently announced captain of the team, succeeding Rohit Sharma. But the move has not worked well with the five-time champions having had a poor three-year phase in the IPL, their best being a Qualifier 2 finish in 2025. This year, MI finished ninth with just four wins in 14 matches. Ravi Ashwin teases Hardik Pandya’s move to CSK Taking to X, Ashwin teased Hardik’s move to CSK while responding to a post on Matheesha Pathirana potentially returning to Chennai. Pathirana, who made his IPL debut in 2022, had been an integral part of the CSK outfit up until last year before he was released. KKR signed him for Rs 18 crore at the auction. But unfortunately, fans did not get to see much of the pacer due to injury and when he made his KKR debut, it lasted just eight balls due to a hamstring injury. A fan put out a post on X asking fellow CSK supporters if Chennai should sign Pathirana once again if KKR decide to release him. The post caught Ashwin’s attention and the former cricketer reacted to it with a CSK dream team of his own. “Pathirana, 07:07 Stokes !Opening. Dube 07:07 MiddleOrder/Finishing. Overton Stokes Balance,” Ashwin’s post on X read. What does 07:07 mean and how is it linked to Hardik Pandya? Many might have been left confused by Ashwin’s post on X, which had the mention of the timestamp ’07:07′. How is this linked to Hardik Pandya? A day ago, Hardik had posted an Instagram story that had a picture featuring a phone on which showed ’07:07′ as the time. After this post, it can be concluded that Ashwin noticed that and, without directly mentioning Hardik’s name, hinted at him joining CSK in his post on X. How did Hardik Pandya fare in IPL 2026? As mentioned before, Hardik had a forgettable campaign by his standards. The all-rounder played 10 matches, missing four due to injury and scored 206 runs with a highest score of 40. Hardik’s strike rate was also underwhelmingly low at 13.25. With the ball, Hardik picked up just four wickets while giving away runs at an economy rate of 11.42. Earlier, a Cricbuzz report had stated that MI do not have intention to trade away Hardik.