Vaibhav Pandya, stepbrother of Hardik, arrested for alleged fraud

Hardik Pandya's stepbrother, Vaibhav Pandya, has been arrested by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police for allegedly cheating the Pandya brothers (Hardik and Krunal) in a business deal of over ₹4 crore.

The arrest was made on April 10 based on accusations that Vaibhav diverted close to ₹4.3 crore from their mutual firm, leading to considerable losses for Hardik and Krunal.

The three brothers started a polymer business partnership deal in 2021 with mutual agreements. However, Vaibhav allegedly broke the agreed distribution ratio between the trio and secretly opened a separate firm, resulting in a profit drop in their partnership deal.

Upon a complaint being filed on this matter, he has been arrested on cheating and forgery charges, with his actions resulting in a loss of ₹3 crore to the original partnership as per reports from Times of India.

Vaibhav Pandya is reportedly a stepbrother of Hardik and Krunal. Seemingly, he shared a close relationship with Hardik and Krunal's late father Himanshu Pandya, calling him 'Papa'. He also has an elder brother named Gauraw Pandya.

Vaibhav has an Instagram account named 'Vaibhav Himanshu Pandya,' which has almost 38K followers. He posted on the handle as recently as April 1.

Vaibhav has posted several photos with renowned cricketers like MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly and Kieron Pollard, among others. He has also often been spotted attending IPL games involving Hardik and Krunal; Vaibhav even shared a picture of him holding the trophy from Gujarat Titans' win in IPL 2022.

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Hardik Pandya will be in action leading MI against RCB today

Coming to cricket, Hardik Pandya will be leading the Mumbai Indians (MI) in a crucial encounter against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium on April 11.

The going has been tough for the 30-year-old thus far with MI winning only one out of their four games. Hardik hasn't lived up to expectations, with the all-rounder averaging only 27 at a strike rate of under 139.

He has struggled even more with the ball, picking up only two wickets at an average of 76 and an economy of almost 11.

Hardik has also had to deal with negative comments from MI fans in the stadiums, thanks to his replacement of Rohit Sharma as skipper in the ongoing season. However, with a win in their latest outing against Delhi Capitals (DC), MI and Hardik would be hoping for a turnaround to their IPL 2024 campaign.