Hardik Pandya shown as a West Indian player by Indian broadcaster during T20 World Cup 2024

The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 broadcaster, Hotstar, made a really big and bizarre blunder during the West Indies vs Papua New Guinea match on June 2 at the Guyana National Stadium. This hilarious yet unexpected error left cricket fans baffled.

In a surprising turn of events, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya's photo appeared on the final scorecard of the second T20 World Cup 2024 clash between the co-hosts, the West Indies and Papua New Guinea, in Guyana.

As the cricket fans tuned in to follow the thrilling encounter between the West Indies and Papua New Guinea, they were left confused when Hardik Pandya's image appeared alongside the players’ statistics on the scorecard.

Hotstar makes unbelievable blunder with Hardik Pandya's photo in T20 World Cup 2024 broadcast

The star Indian all-rounder’s photo appeared over West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase's name when the final scorecard was shown on the Disney+ Hotstar. That’s not enough; Hotstar made an even broader gaffe, as Hardik’s photo was seen over every player on the West Indies vs Papua New Guinea match scorecard.

Apart from Chase, West Indies batter Brendon King, all-rounder Andre Russell, PNG’s Sesa Bua, and Assad Vala’s stats were shown with the image of the Indian all-rounder Pandya, wearing the old dark blue jersey.

The broadcaster’s blunder quickly caught the attention of fans across the world, sparking a flurry of reactions on social media, with many users expressing their disbelief and amusement at the bizarre error by sharing screenshots of that scorecard.

Here's the viral post of Hotstar's gaffe:

After this incident, Kruna Pandya’s admission on Season 3 of the YouTube series 'What the Duck' went viral, where he drew comparisons between Hardik’s appearance and the vibrant Caribbean lifestyle. Krunal joked on the show by saying, “If you see a picture of Hardik as a child, you would think that this kid is from the Caribbean, not an Indian kid.”

Not only Hardik's brother Krunal, but former Indian captain and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly also felt the same when he saw the Indian all-rounder for the first time. Ganguly had said in 2018: “I met Hardik Pandya the other day; it seemed like he was Jamaican-born. He can't be from Baroda!”

Notably, Hardik is the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and Caribbean. The Indian all-rounder showed glimpses of his form by scoring 40 runs in 23 balls and taking up a wicket during India's 60-run win over Bangladesh in the warm-up match.

India will kickstart their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York, and Hardik is expected to play a big role in their hunt for their second title in the tournament.