"It ended before we even reached the dating stage" - Esha Gupta addresses rumours about star India cricketer

Bollywood actress Esha Gupta recently dismissed link-up rumors with Team India's star all-rounder Hardik Pandya. She revealed that while the two were in touch, there wasn't any romantic relationship between them.

Gupta, who made her film debut with 'Jannat 2', stated that she met Hardik a couple of times during that period, but the two eventually decided to call their friendship off after a couple of months of talking.

The 39-year-old made the revelation during an interview with television and radio host Siddharth Sannan. Opening up on the dating rumours with Hardik, Esha Gupta said (quoted as saying by News 18):

"Yeah, for some time we were talking. I don’t think we were dating, but yeah, we were talking for a couple of months. We were at that ‘maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t’ stage. It ended before we even reached the dating stage. So it wasn’t dating-dating. We met once or twice, that’s it. So yeah, as I said, it was a couple of months and then it ended."

"There was no drama or bitterness. It just wasn’t meant to be," added Esha Gupta.

Hardik tied the knot with Serbian actress and model Natasa Stankovic in May 2020. The couple renewed their wedding vows in a grand ceremony in Udaipur on February 14, Valentine's Day, in 2023.

They welcomed a baby boy, Agastya, on July 30, 2020. However, Hardik and Natasa's marriage ended last year, and they released a joint statement to announce their separation on July 18, 2024.

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"That part didn't affect me" - Esha Gupta on Hardik Pandya's Koffee With Karan controversy

Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul featured in Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar's talk show, 'Koffee With Karan', in 2019. The episode stirred a controversy, with Hardik, in particular, coming under the scanner for misogynistic comments.

In the same interview, Esha Gupta noted that she wasn't bothered by Hardik's remarks as the two had stopped talking by then. She said:

"That part didn’t affect me, because we had already stopped talking by then. They were already going through enough. What good would it do if I jumped in with more criticism?"

On the cricketing front, Hardik was last seen in action during the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). Under his captaincy, the Mumbai Indians (MI) qualified for the playoffs.

Their campaign ended with a five-wicket defeat to eventual runners-up Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Qualifier 2. Hardik scored 224 runs across 12 innings at a strike rate of 163.50. With the ball, he bagged 14 wickets from as many innings at an economy rate of 9.77.