During BCCI's annual awards, Hardik Pandya was asked to name his idol to which he responded, "Wasim Jaffer." Notably, Hardik had named Irfan Pathan as idol in previous interviews. "Bro took different name to farm aura," a fan commented. "In 2030...he'll call himself his idol," another comment read. Irfan was excluded from IPL 2025 commentary panel reportedly for criticising Hardik.