Hardik Pandya's relationship with Natasha Stenkovic is official, KL Rahul-Athiya Shetty almost so

Hardik Pandya acquired a reputation for being a playboy after his infamous interview with Karan Johar on Koffee with Karan. Since then, the all-rounder has been acting much more soberly, especially regarding his comments and actions towards women.

For a long time, speculation has been rife about his relationship with Serbian model Natasha Stenkovic. These two had been seen together on several occasions and were freely sharing pictures of themselves in each other's company. Now, as we enter a new decade, both have decided to lift the curtains and make their relationship official.

The all-rounder celebrated the new year eve with his former captain and teammate Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Dubai. But right on the stroke of midnight on December 31, the Baroda-based cricketer shared a picture on his Instagram profile where he is standing with Stenkovic and the text alongside it read: "Starting the year with my firework." The implication couldn't be clearer.

Stenkovic is a well-known personality in the world of showbiz as she has starred in music videos and even some Bollywood songs, apart from her modelling career. It seems Hardik has decided that this is the right girl for her. Hopefully, he would be more careful in his pronouncements from hereon.

Athiya and Rahul

The other man who suffered from Hardik Pandya's antics on Koffee with Karan, apart from him, KL Rahul, too seems to be making progress in his personal relationship. A few days after a picture of him and actress Athiya Shetty was shared by the two of them and approvingly commented on by Athiya's father Sunil Shetty, the two are now seen holidaying together in Thailand, albeit with their friends.

In their social media posts, Shetty and Rahul are sitting side-by-side and seem to be having a jolly good time with their friends. The friends accompanying them are Akanksha Ranjan Kapoor, Anushka Ranjan, Usaamah Siddique and Aditya Seal. This is not the first time that the possible star couple has been vacationing with their friends.

While Rahul and Athiya haven't disclosed the actual status of their relationship and therefore we have to be content with calling them 'friends', things seem to be inexorably headed towards the two becoming something more than that.

The new decade seems to have inspired sportspersons to become open about their partners. Just after the clock ticked into 2020, badminton player Jwala Gutta tweeted photographs of herself with her rumoured boyfriend, Tamil actor Vishnu Vishal, even calling him 'my baby'. Hardik has now done the same. Wonder if Rahul will be the next.