Cricket / Voluntarily went to customs; watch is worth ₹1.5 crore, not ₹5 crore: Pandya

Cricket Desk: Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya found himself in a bit of tangle after it was reported that his two of his watches worth INR 5 crores have been seized by the Mumbai customs department. Going by reports, he didn’t declare them as custom items and didn’t have proper bills of them either.

If reports are to be believed, Pandya’s watches were seized on Sunday, November 14 after he and the other Indian players were returning from Dubai following the T20 World Cup 2021. The customs department got hold of Pandya when he reached to the Mumbai airport.

As per another report in ABP, Hardik owns a Patek Philippe Nautilus Platinum 5711, costing a stunning INR 5 crore. The cricketer is often seen wearing the watch and he had it with him during a photoshoot as well.

In the meantime, Pandya dropped a note on Twitter, giving a clarification on the entire development. The all-rounder also put forth the actual prices of the watches and said that the speculations on social media are not correct.

Hardik Pandya’s note

“Early on Monday morning, 15th November, on my arrival from Dubai, after picking up my luggage, I voluntarily went to Mumbai airport customs counter to declare the items brought by me and pay the requisite customs duty. Wrong perceptions have been floating around on social media regarding my declaration to customs at Mumbai airport, and I would like to clarify about what transpired.

“I had voluntarily declared all the items that I’d lawfully purchased from Dubai and was ready to pay whatever duties that needed to be paid. As a matter of fact, the customs department had asked for all purchase documents which were submitted; however, customs are doing proper valuation for duty which I’ve already confirmed to pay.

“The cost of the watch is approximately Rs. 1.5 crore and not Rs. 5 crores as per the rumours floating around on social media.

“I’m a law-abiding citizen of the country and I respect all government agencies. I’ve received all the cooperation from the Mumbai customs department and I’ve assured my full cooperation to them and will provide them with whatever legitimate documents they need to get this matter cleared. All allegations against me of crossing any legal boundaries are totally unfounded.”

Pandya didn’t have the best of outings in the T20 World Cup 2021. In five matches, he scored only 69 runs at an average of 34.50 and a strike rate of 153.33. There were doubts over Pandya’s fitness as he didn’t bowl enough in the tournament for Virat Kohli and Co.. In four overs, Hardik leaked 40 runs and couldn’t pick up a single wicket.