Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya has sent social media fans on a wild goose chase thanks to his latest Instagram story. MI was the second team eliminated from the race for the playoffs in IPL 2026, and they ended their season with a loss to Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on Sunday.

Hardik Pandya had taken over MI captaincy in IPL 2024, after he was traded in from the Gujarat Titans, and in three seasons, he has been the captain, MI have failed to qualify for the playoffs in two seasons. The only exception was IPL 2025, when MI made it into the final four.

However, this season, MI didn’t get any rhythm or momentum in any of the games and managed only 4 wins in 14 games in the IPL 2026 and finished 9th on the points table.

Pandya himself was not very good with the bat or the ball, scoring 206 runs in 10 games with a strike rate of 138.25, and managed only 4 wickets at an economy of 11.42.

Now Hardik Pandya shared a story on Instagram featuring a cryptic "07:07" that has set fans speculating whether Pandya is set to join MS Dhoni in the Chennai Super Kings franchise. Moments after Sunday's loss, batting coach Kieron Pollard intimated that Hardik was under scrutiny following a disappointing season as captain.

Hours later, on Monday afternoon, Hardik posted a mysterious Instagram story. The shot featured a laptop, which appeared to be playing something, as well as a notebook, a pen, and his mobile phone. However, what drew the internet's attention was the time displayed on the phone screen: 07:07.

 Social media blew in speculation, with posts wondering if Hardik just hinted at leaving Mumbai to join the Chennai Super Kings? Was it some sort of coded message involving MS Dhoni?

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