By Admin 
India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is all set to return to competitive cricket. Pandya has been out for a long time due to injury, but will now be seen playing for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. An inside source of Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) has confirmed this to IANS.
Hardik Pandya was injured during the Super-4 match of Asia Cup against Sri Lanka. Since then Pandya has not returned to the field. Hardik Pandya could not play in the limited overs series against Australia due to injury. After this, he also had to sit out of the ongoing ODI series against South Africa.
Now this all-rounder has got Return to Play (RTP) clearance. He is based out of the Center of Excellence of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Bengaluru.
“After a long break from cricket, Hardik Pandya is going to play for Baroda. He will play the next few matches for us in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy,” a BCA official told IANS.
Hardik Pandya has played 11 Tests, 94 ODIs and 120 T20 matches for India. Apart from this, he played 29 first class and 118 List-A matches.
Baroda, under the captaincy of Krunal Pandya, will face Punjab on Tuesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, after which it will face Gujarat on December 4. This team will compete against Service on 8th December.
Hardik Pandya will join the team led by his brother Krunal. The Indian team will play a five-match T20 series against South Africa from December 9. To be included in its selection, Hardik Pandya will have to perform well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Baroda team lost to Bengal by six wickets in its first match of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. After this, it had to face defeat by 17 runs against Puducherry, but in its third match, this team won against Himachal Pradesh by 5 wickets.