Hardik Pandya has announced his separation with wife Natasa Stankovic, putting an end to the speculations over their relationship on Thursday. The Team India all-rounder issued a statement on his official Instagram profile, confirming the news.

After 4 years of being together, Natasa and I have decided to mutually part ways. We tried our best together and gave it our all, and we believe this is in the best interest for the both of us. This was a tough decision for us to make, given the joy, mutual respect and companionship we enjoyed together and as we grew a family," Hardik wrote.

We are blessed with Agastya, who will continue to be at the centre of both our lives and we will co-parent to ensure that we give him everything that we can for his happiness.

We sincerely request your support and understanding to give us the privacy during this difficult and sensitive time.

The statement from Hardik comes shortly after the BCCI announced Team India's squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, which saw Suryakumar Yadav becoming the new T20I captain. Hardik was the vice-captain in India's last T20I assignment at the World Cup last month, but the all-rounder was overlooked for the captaincy spot over fitness concerns. It was reported that Hardik was already intimated about the decision.

The all-rounder will, however, take part in the T20I series under Suryakumar's captaincy. It will be the batter's second bilateral T20I series as captain, having already led the side in South Africa last year.

Over the past few months, speculations had been rife over the relationship between Hardik and Natasa; they picked pace particularly after a horrid IPL season for Mumbai Indians, where Hardik was captain. Natasa had deleted all of her pictures with the all-rounder on Instagram, which fuelled the rumours over their separation.

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