Hardik Pandya Slams Paparazzi Over Photos Of Girlfriend Mahieka Sharma

Hyderabad: Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has expressed his displeasure after the Paparazzi recently clicked photos of his girlfriend, Mahieka Sharma, from an inappropriate angle. The all-rounder is set to return in the Indian team for the first time since September. He took to Instagram story to take a firm stand, saying the line has been crossed clearly.

"I understand that living in the public eye comes with attention and scrutiny, it's part of the life I've chosen. But today, something happened that crossed a line. Mahieka was simply walking down a staircase at a Bandra restaurant when paps decided to capture her from an angle that no woman deserves to be photographed from. A private moment was turned into cheap sensationalism," Hardik wrote.

The 32-year-old requested more dignified behaviour towards women from the photographers, that not every angle needs to be taken.

"This isn't about headlines or who clicked what, it's about basic respect. Women deserve dignity. Everyone deserves boundaries. To the media brothers who work hard every day: I respect your hustle, and I always cooperate. But I'm requesting you all, please be a little more mindful,” he added.

Hardik confirmed that he was dating Mahieka in October this year, a few weeks after the rumours of him dating her started making the rounds. The right-handed batter shared photos of Mahieka on the social media handle.

Hardik is gearing up for the first T20I against South Africa, which will be played on Tuesday, December 9, in Cuttack, Odisha. Hardik was away from competitive action for close to two months due to a quadriceps injury. The right-handed batter took time out to recover from injury.

India won the ODI series against South Africa recently by 2-1 and shrugged off the loss in the Test series.