Ashwin’s WWE Take on Hardik Goes Viral: “Just Like Triple H”
Hardik Pandya gave a pep talk. Tilak Varma scored a hundred. And Ravichandran Ashwin compared it to WWE.
Mumbai Indians were struggling in their match against Gujarat Titans when captain Pandya pulled Varma aside during a timeout. The youngster was crawling at 19 off 22 balls. What followed was one of the best cameos of IPL 2026 — an unbeaten 101 off 45 balls that blew GT’s bowlers apart. MI won by 99 runs.
Ashwin, watching from the commentary box, couldn’t help himself. “Hardik Pandya motivated him like how we see in WWE,” he said. “Just like Triple H used to do with water.”
Crude comparison. Accurate result. Whatever Pandya said — it worked.