Sai Kishore breaks silence after Hardik Pandya fight- IPL

The Gujarat Titans’ spinner, R Sai Kishore, has opened up on his heated face-off with the former captain of the franchise, Hardik Pandya, from the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It went viral on social media platforms.

Kishore reckoned that every player, upon entering the field, would always be aggressive in their actions, which has been part and parcel of the game. There wasn’t much heat between Pandya and Kishore after the end of the encounter.

"We don't take anything personally" — Kishore opens up on the viral moment

The Tamil Nadu spinner believed that every player would always want to be aggressive and competitive while entering the field, as it would bring out the dark side of the player. Expecting things to be soft is what most viewers actually want.

Watch Sai Kishore's view on heated clash with Hardik Pandya-

“More often than not, you don’t like it. As a viewer, you would always want everything to be very soft. That’s how I want it at least. But when you enter the field, things can be different. Entering the field, you are very competitive, and your dark side is there.” Kishore opened up on the stare-down with Hardik Pandya in a recent podcast.

“When they enter the field, everyone becomes quite aggressive. So, whatever has to be done for that moment, it has to be there. But because I am not in the AC room and chilled out, I would be telling that. But it’s not that situation,” He addressed.

Umpire forced to step in as Pandya and Kishore squared up mid-over

The Shubman Gill-led Titans got the better of the Mumbai Indians in that IPL 2026 clash by 36 runs. But the biggest talking point was the stare-down between the MI skipper and the GT spinner. However, after the game ended, Kishore played down the incident, calling Hardik a ‘good friend.’

“He’s a good friend of mine; inside the field it should be like that. Inside the field, anybody is an opponent, but we don’t take things personally. We are good competitors. That's how I think the game should be.” The India-spinner revealed at the end of the contest.

In the 2025 season of the IPL, Kishore picked up 19 wickets in just 15 innings at an average of around 20 and an economy rate of 9.24, with the best bowling figures of 3/30 in an innings.