Hardik Pandya All Set To Return To Action For Baroda After 42-Day Rehab: Report

Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is all set to return to competitive cricket after over a month of intense rehabilitation and will play three Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games for Baroda, to get ready

in time for the T20I series against South Africa, which will start on December 9, according to a report in The Times of India.

Pandya will leave the BCCI Centre of Excellence on Saturday, November 29, after receiving Return to Play clearance. He is all set to join Krunal Pandya’s Baroda team for the SMAT in Hyderabad, featuring in games on December 2, 4, and 6.

Pandya had joined the Centre of Excellence on October 14 for a left quadricep injury assessment and has been training to prepare for the upcoming white-ball games.

Pandya took a brief break around Diwali during his rehabilitation but completed 42 days of intensive training under specialist supervision.

Pandya was expected to be ready for the ODIs against South Africa beginning Sunday, November 30, but the plan was revised to ease him back into action through the shorter format first.

Pandya has been sidelined since the Asia Cup clash against Sri Lanka two months ago, missing the Australia tour and India’s ODIs against South Africa.

Pandya remains a key figure in India’s white-ball setup, with management aiming to have him ready for next year’s T20 World Cup, according to the report. The three T20s for Baroda will give him valuable match practice before rejoining the team for the T20Is against South Africa.

Starting from November 26, Baroda had seven group matches to play till December 8 and head coach Mukund Parmar is expecting Pandya to play the majority of them.

“He hasn’t yet joined the squad, but we expect him to play the majority of the games. His presence always provides a big boost to the squad,” Parmar said while speaking to PTI earlier this week.